Brian McCann's farewell season will be remembered fondly in Braves history. McCann, a hometown product, began and finished his career with the organization. But when McCann announced his decision to retire shortly after the Braves were eliminated in October, it opened a gaping hole at catcher.
The Braves found success in recent seasons with a co-catcher formula. Veteran Tyler Flowers paired with McCann and Kurt Suzuki to give the Braves a productive backstop tandem over the past few years. They'll hope newcomer Travis d'Arnaud can team with Flowers and provide similar production.
» BRAVES Q&A: Travis d'Arnaud on joining Atlanta
Sold on the franchise by his brother Chase, a former Brave, d’Arnaud has the task of managing an up-and-coming group of pitchers while adding steady offensive production. The Braves moved quickly to secure d’Arnaud earlier in the winter, confident he would be a perfect fit with the organization and his new teammates.
Meanwhile, in the minors, last year's first-round pick Shea Langeliers will be developing as the potential catcher of the future. William Contreras, the younger brother of Chicago's Willson, also has a fair amount of upside. The Braves have opted for stopgaps at the position while the future simmers in the minors.
Roster locks (2019 stats)
Travis d'Arnaud (.251/.312/.433, 16 HRs, 69 RBIs)
Tyler Flowers (.229/.319/.413, 11 HRs, 34 RBIs)
On the bubble
Alex Jackson
Key stat: 23 and 79
McCann and Flowers combined for 23 homers and bring in 79 RBIs a year ago. Flowers, another year older, is what he is at the plate. Can he and d’Arnaud combine for similar production? Already, the Braves likely will suffer at least a modest drop-off in power at the clean-up spot. The lineup is a bit suspect after the team’s top four, so sustaining the tandem production at catcher certainly would help. D’Arnaud is coming off a bounce-back season, and there’s reason for optimism with his bat. Production similar to a season ago, when he hit .251 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs, would be enormous for this group.
Key player: d’Arnaud
To continue on the above point, d’Arnaud’s offense is an important piece of the puzzle. The Braves are comfortable with what Flowers provides, and they’re confident d’Arnaud will be an asset behind the plate. They need to fortify the bottom of the order, and d’Arnaud maintaining his 2019 pace would help.
What to watch for over the season
Health is the obvious factor, as the Braves lack the upper-minors depth to comfortably navigate a long-term injury to d’Arnaud or Flowers. Alex Jackson, who’s shown little thus far as a fringe major leaguer, is the next man up. Jonathan Morales, Carlos Martinez, Langeliers and Contreras haven’t appeared in a major-league game. Like past years, the Braves probably will add veteran depth to stash in Triple-A, be it before opening day or at some point during the season.
Langeliers’ and Contreras’ development is worth following. It’s not inconceivable either could work his way to the majors later this year, though that shouldn’t be the expectation. Langeliers is a well-seasoned college product who was considered closer to MLB-ready when he was drafted. Contreras didn’t develop as hoped in 2019, but he’s on the 40-man roster and could debut sooner if there’s an injury.
Overall, the Braves are happy with another veteran duo working with their younger pitchers and guiding the team through what they hope is a third-consecutive postseason run.
