The Braves traded for Sean Murphy not because they didn’t like the catcher they had. They traded for Murphy because they want to ensure that Travis d’Arnaud, who’s 34, remains a fixture in their lineup for as long as possible.
Through five games – small sample size, yes, but it’s 100 percent of their season as of Wednesday morning – d’Arnaud had started them all. Three as DH, two as catcher. His slash line: .455/.591/1.045. Brian Snitker had included him on the lineup card in four different slots: fourth (twice), fifth, sixth and eighth.
In his early days as a Met, d’Arnaud was a good hitter for a catcher. He became a Brave in November 2019. He has since been a good hitter, period. He won a Sliver Slugger award in 2020. He was an All-Star in 2022.
Late last season, yours truly asked a Braves higher-up to pick the team’s MVP. I asked because there were many candidates – Michael Harris, Austin Riley, Max Fried, Dansby Swanson, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright. The higher-up named d’Arnaud.
The Braves’ pitching – Fried, Strider, Wright – was very good last season. Some of that had to do with d’Arnaud. Having a seasoned catcher is never a bad thing. (Ask the Cardinals about Yadi Molina.) The Murphy trade had as much to do with the Braves’ future – Murphy’s 28 – as the here and now.
To replace Freddie Freeman, the Braves sent Shea Langeliers, their No. 1 pick in 2019, to the A’s for Matt Olson. Langeliers rendered Murphy surplus to requirements in Oakland, where the budget and Billy Beane don’t allow surpluses. Now the Braves have two starting catchers, one of whom is DH-worthy. And don’t fret about Murphy’s hitting: He’s better than this.
We figured these Braves would hit, and they have. (Yes, it’s early.) They’ve scored seven-plus runs three times in five games. They led 4-0 after a half-inning Tuesday night. Michael Harris hasn’t gotten going, but Orlando Arcia has. Having d’Arnaud in the order on an everyday basis is a major deal.
The club has the option to keep him next year for $8 million, which is he’s making this season. It’s hard to imagine the Braves saying no to that. He hits. He catches. He’s deft at handling pitchers. He’s a bright guy – the kind of guy you can imagine as a coach or a manager or even a higher-up.
One of Alex Anthopoulos’ first moves as Toronto’s general manager was to acquire the 20-year-old catcher from Philadelphia in a trade for Roy Halladay. In 2012, d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard were sent to the Mets in the R.A. Dickey deal, which wasn’t Anthopoulos’ greatest move – come 2015, Syndergaard and d’Arnaud were a starting battery in the World Series – but wasn’t his worst, either. Dickey helped the Blue Jays to the playoffs that same season.
D’Arnaud bottomed out in 2019. The Mets cut him. The Dodgers signed him. He played one game for L.A. before being flipped to Tampa Bay, where he became part of a playoff run. He became a free agent at season’s end. Anthopoulos, now with the Braves, signed him for $16 million over two seasons as a bridge to Langeliers and William Contreras.
Those two are gone. D’Arnaud’s still here. He’s no longer the everyday catcher. He is, however, the every-other-day catcher, plus the every-other-day DH. He had a huge NLDS against Miami – seven RBIs in three games – in 2020. He hit two homers against the Astros in the 2021 World Series, one in the key 2-0 Game 3 win. He hit two more against Philadelphia last fall, not that it mattered. He has been around a while and done a lot of things. He’s a keeper.
The Braves made a splash over the winter by trading for a Gold Glove catcher even though they had an All-Star catcher. Now they’ve got the makings of a mighty fine platoon. Murphy just got here. D’Arnaud’s not leaving anytime soon. He means too much to this organization.
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