An Easy Decision for the Atlanta Braves and Travis d'Arnaud

When it comes to personnel decisions, the Atlanta Braves have an easy one to make with catcher Travis d'Arnaud

Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud has a club option in his contract for 2025. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud has been heating up when the team has needed him most. Since July 3, d’Arnaud is batting .296 with a .901 OPS, six home runs, and 15 RBI across 22 games. He’s on his best run since the end of April - more on that in a bit. 

The Braves need to keep that in mind this offseason. He’s a perfect candidate to have his $8-million club option exercised for 2025. 

Keep a Strong Catchers Duo Together 

Saen Murphy is having an off year. It didn’t help that he missed the first month of the season. It’s not unreasonable to think he’ll bounce back next season when he’s had another offseason to rest and come back even healthier.

But Murphy’s season has shown the value in having that second good catcher. d’Arnaud was able to step up and have a strong April - a .282 average and .950 OPS - in Murphy’s absence, contributing to the Braves' strong start to the season. 

Both catchers also work with each starting pitcher pretty consistently. They don’t have to worry about any preference in how comfortable a pitcher is with one versus the other. While could be a reason to just roll with just one of the catchers next season, think of it this way. This allows manager Brian Snitker to plan the offensive matchups without compromising his starters. 

For example, despite both being right-handed hitters, d’Arnaud has hit much better against lefties than Murphy this season. On the flip side, Murphy generally hits better against righties. 

This value could be lost with another catcher in the mix. 

One of the Best Options on the Market

One of the toughest things for a team to find is a catcher who has a good bat. It’s not quite as bad as pitchers when they would hit, but the expectations can still be pretty low. For that reason, good-hitting catchers come at a premium. 

For example, this season, Will Smith makes $11.5 million, Wilson Contreras makes $18 million and J.T. Realmuto makes nearly $24 million. The Braves will start paying Sean Murphy $15 million next season. 

And these are all guys who are on long-term deals. So, even if the Braves wanted to go out and get another top catcher, they can’t. 

The reality is it will be tougher to get as good of a catcher on the open market and at the contract value d’Arnaud currently has. 

Most upcoming free-agent catchers are indeed coming off cheaper contracts, but you get what you pay for. Luke Maile and Austin Hedges have both batted under .200 in the handful of games they have played this season with a combined three home runs across a combined 88 games. 

James McCann makes $10.15 million and is batting .219 with a .590 OPS. He’s solid behind the dish, sure, but no better than the catcher the Braves already have. 

Even with d’Arnaud being 35 years old, it’ll be hard to find a more effective alternative at such a low price. If the Braves are going to keep any member of the band, d’Arnaud is the guy. 

Picking up d'Arnaud's $8-million option this offseason should be one of the easiest decisions the Atlanta Braves make.