Braves ink free-agent deal with veteran catcher

Now 35 years old, Austin Nola has six years of big-league experience under his belt, accumulating 4.6 WAR over 359 games, primarily as a backup catcher. However, his production has declined significantly in recent seasons.

Nola didn’t appear in the majors in 2024, hitting just .174 with five homers over 55 games in Triple-A. He followed that up by hitting .184 with a .446 OPS in 14 games for the Rockies this year.

The Braves’ interest in adding depth at catcher is intriguing, especially given the possibility that they could revisit moving one of their two talented backstops this offseason after standing pat at the trade deadline. Still, the addition of Austin Nola doesn’t offer any real clues about that situation. His best days are clearly behind him, and at this point in his career, he’s little more than organizational depth.

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