Another reason Braves should keep Sean Murphy

When Sean Murphy hit the injured list, Braves Country was ready to trade the veteran out of Atlanta in favor of the rookie Drake Baldwin. Something I always felt was quite ridiculous.

Murphy was one of baseball’s best catchers in 2023 and began the 2024 campaign on the IL with an oblique strain. When he returned, he never found his groove due to irregular playing time because of a struggling Atlanta offense and Travis d’Arnaud’s bat.

Afrer the best season of his career in 2023, Murphy followed it up with the worst season of his career in 2024. The combination of that bad taste and Baldwin’s exciting breakout resulted in Braves fans wanting to trade the veteran.

That thinking only grew more common when Baldwin burst onto the scene in wake of Murphy’s absence. In his first 31 games, the rookie slashed .355/.400/.559 with five home runs and four doubles, good for an OPS of .959.

I always defended Murphy because he’s a damn good catcher, and it was far too early to make a decision that significant. I didn’t say the Braves shouldn’t ever trade one of them; I just said it was a decision that required more thought and data than a 30-game sample size.

And guess what? Drake Baldwin is amid the first slump of his career. Since that scorching start, he’s cooled off considerably. Over his last 14 games, Baldwin has a .522 OPS, and his batting average is nearly 50 points below the Mendoza Line.

Nobody should be worried about Drake Baldwin because he’s still putting together competitive at-bats, and everyone goes through slumps. Hell, even Sean Murphy is amid a slump of his own, hitting .194 with a .638 OPS in his last 10 games.

However, the overarching point of this piece is to remind Braves fans just how hard baseball is, how little experience Baldwin has compared to Murphy, and how valuable it is to have two productive catchers when one will inevitably slump. Unfortunately, both are right now, but it won’t last.

Eventually, the Braves might have to make a decision between Baldwin or Murphy and address other areas of the roster. However, it’s not a decision that should be made with haste. There are worse things than having two elite catchers on the roster, and while Drake Baldwin might be the Braves next star player, he’s still a rookie with a lot left to prove.