With the Braves’ playoff ticket already punched, the real roster puzzle is no longer about getting in. It’s about who gets carried into the Wild Card round, and Atlanta’s catching situation may be the thing that squeezes the most.
The obvious problem is also the unusual one: the Braves have two good catchers. Drake Baldwin has already pushed himself into the conversation as one of the best at the position, while Sean Murphy still carries a strong defensive reputation even though his bat has been a struggle since coming off the injured list.
The snag is how often Atlanta uses both of them together. Baldwin is frequently in the DH spot, which shifts Murphy behind the plate and makes the team’s catching setup feel more fragile than it should at this stage of the year. If one of them goes down in a short series, the Braves could be left scrambling.
That’s why Mark Bowman’s recent playoff roster projection stands out. In his view, Atlanta would carry catcher Chuckie Robinson for the Wild Card round, a move that would eat up another roster spot and limit the team’s flexibility elsewhere.
Bowman’s assessment makes sense on its own terms. The Braves can argue over how many relievers to take or how many arms they want available to cover multiple innings, but the catching issue is harder to dismiss. If Baldwin is at DH and Murphy is catching, the team is basically asking for trouble by going into a do-or-die series without a real safety net at the position.
Robinson would fit the role of a classic third catcher. He brings experience, game-calling know-how, and a feel for the job, even if the bat is essentially a non-factor.
There is another route, at least in theory: keep Kyle Farmer available as an emergency catcher. That would give Atlanta a player who can offer some offense if needed. But it comes with a major catch of its own, since he has ZERO big league innings at catcher since 2019.
So this is the bill the Braves are paying for now. They do not have a clean DH answer, they keep wanting both Baldwin and Murphy in the lineup, and that leaves the postseason roster with a built-in headache. Murphy’s production at the plate could eventually change the equation, but for this October, the problem is still right there.
In Other News...
Braves Let A Scoreless Game Slip Away In Frustrating Loss
For most of the afternoon, it looked like the Braves were headed for one of those taut, low-scoring games that can turn on a single mistake. Instead, Miami rookie Eury Perez turned in the kind of performance that can flatten a lineup, pitching his first career complete game while allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out eight in a 3-0 Marlins win.
Atlanta was still within striking distance until Joe Mack broke the scoreless tie with his 14th home run in the seventh. The Marlins then put the game out of reach with two more runs in the eighth, getting help from Jakob Marsee, Heriberto Hernandez and Griffin Conine, leaving the Braves to sit on a frustrating night in which one swing changed everything. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Suddenly Have An October Concern They Cant Ignore
The Braves entered their final regular-season series looking to keep momentum rolling, but Friday night in Miami instead served as a reminder that the offense still has no margin for error. Atlanta was held to one hit in a 3-0 loss, with Sean Murphys sixth-inning single the only blemish on Eury Prezs first career complete game and shutout for the Marlins. Prez was sharp enough to neutralize just about everything, striking out eight and issuing only one walk.
There was at least a positive on the other side of the ball, where Ray Kerr and Grant Holmes combined to give Atlanta a strong pitching effort despite the defeat. Even so, the bigger issue is hard to miss: when the bats disappear like this, the Braves cant afford many more nights where one run feels out of reach, especially with October around the corner and every outing starting to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Rileys Late Surge Gives Braves One Huge October Question
Austin Riley has started to look a lot more like himself at just the right time, powering up with multiple home runs after a season that included a nagging toothache and career lows in batting average and OPS. The Braves have spent much of the year waiting for that middle-of-the-order force to reappear, and Rileys recent surge has at least given them a timely reminder of how much he can change an October lineup when hes driving the ball.
Still, the broader picture is more complicated than a hot streak. Riley also set a franchise record for strikeouts, which speaks to how uneven the year has been as he works through swing adjustments before the Wild Card Series. Manager Walt Weiss has voiced confidence in the progress, but for the Braves, the real question is whether this version of Riley can carry over when the games get tighter and the margin for error gets much smaller. [Read more 🡒]