The Braves on Saturday placed catcher Travis d’Arnaud on baseball’s paternity leave list and recalled catcher William Contreras from Triple-A Gwinnett.
The day before, d’Arnaud signed a two-year, $16 million contract and hit a two-run homer.
“He had a lot going on (Friday), I know, in his mind,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Saturday. “It was a pretty good day for him with the extension, the homer. At some point here ... he adds a new member to his family.”
Snitker said Contreras would be available off the bench for Saturday night’s game in Baltimore. Stephen Vogt started the game at catcher. “The plan” is for Contreras to catch Sunday afternoon’s series finale, Snitker said.
Under MLB rules, a player can remain on the paternity leave list for up to three days.
Snitker, who had said Friday that he probably would use d’Arnaud as the designated hitter in Saturday’s game, instead used Jorge Soler in that role for the second consecutive game.
D’Arnaud is 7-for-25 with two home runs in six games since returning from the injured list (torn thumb ligament) last week.
Contreras has hit .313 with eight home runs and a .951 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in 32 games at Gwinnett. Earlier this season, he hit .204 with seven homers and a .665 OPS in 44 games with the Braves.
