Picking Braves' Worst Long-Term Contract

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer projected which player is the worst for the Atlanta Braves to have signed after the 2026 season.

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

What a difference a year can make. No cliché was more true for several Atlanta Braves position players this past season.

Stars such as Matt Olson experienced very different 2024 seasons than 2023. Other stars like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley finished the season on the injured list.

But when forced to pick the player on the worst long-term deal for the Braves, Bleacher Report's Zachardy Rymer left little doubt that it's catcher Sean Murphy.

"Though he was an All-Star just last season, he's also been limited by injuries to 180 games over the last two seasons," Rymer wrote. "And he's had a chilly bat for a while now, altogether hitting just .181/.294/.313 in 113 games since the 2023 All-Star break.

"Such things wouldn't bode well for anyone, much less a guy who's now into his 30s after celebrating the big 3-0 on October 4."

A year after making his first All-Star team in 2023, Murphy hit just .193 with a .636 OPS during 2024. Because of his struggles and injuries, veteran catcher Travis d'Arnaud played in 99 games,. That was the second most games d'Arnaud has played in over the past five seasons.

Murphy started the 2024 season on a sour note, departing on Opening Day with an oblique injury. He didn't return for two months, and in many ways, he never recovered.

Murphy never got going offensively at any point during 2024. He recorded multiple hits in consecutive games just once.

For the Braves, the hope is Murphy will be able to bounce back if completely healthy next summer. But Rymer doesn't have much confidence that that will happen.

The 30-year-old catcher will begin earning $15 million per season in 2025. The deal won't expire until 2029 although the final year of the contract is a club option.