The Braves have trimmed their catching logjam, sending Joey Bart to the White Sox as Sean Murphy’s return moves closer.
Atlanta’s need for Bart made sense when Murphy was on his second significant injury of the season and Drake Baldwin was sidelined with an oblique issue. In that stretch, Bart didn’t light things up, but he did steady the position when the Braves badly needed someone behind the plate. He was also one of the worst ABS challengers in baseball, though the bigger picture was simpler: he filled an emergency role.
That role has shrunk fast. Murphy is set to come back from his finger injury relatively soon, and Baldwin is already handling most of the catching duties now that he’s back. With the depth chart tightening, there was not much room left for Bart, and Alex Anthopoulos moved him out.
The White Sox, meanwhile, are the team getting the catching help they had been seeking. They landed Bart from Atlanta in exchange for right-hander Duncan Davitt, according to Mark Feinsand.
For the Braves, the return is modest, but it is still something. Given how Bart performed, getting any value back has to be viewed as a positive. Davitt brings little immediate excitement: he has barely any major league time, and in 21 Triple-A appearances this season he has put up a 6.22 ERA.
So Atlanta clears some clutter behind the plate and adds a fringe swingman to Triple-A. It is not a flashy move, and it does not address the search for a playoff-caliber starter, but it does accomplish what the Braves needed it to do.
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Braves Just Cleared Two Roster Spots For A Bigger Deadline Shift
The Braves used the deadline to shuffle the margins of their roster, dealing catcher Joey Bart to the White Sox and sending outfielder Eli White to the Red Sox in separate moves. In return, Atlanta picked up right-hander Duncan Davitt and minor league reliever Tyler Uberstine, with the latter optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, a sign these were as much about clearing space as adding immediate help.
Those openings matter because the roster is not done changing. Atlanta has a potential return behind the plate looming in Sean Murphy, and another outfield addition in Lane Thomas could soon fit into the mix as well, giving the club a little more flexibility for the stretch run. For a team trying to line up the right pieces after deadline day, the next round of moves may end up being the more interesting part of this one. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Catching Picture Is Finally Changing At The Right Time
Joey Barts brief run as Atlantas backup catcher has come to an end after the Braves and White Sox struck a trade that sends him to Chicago for rookie right-hander Duncan Davitt. Bart had been filling in behind the plate for Atlanta, but the clubs catching picture is now shifting with the roster moving toward a different look.
Davitt arrives with a little bit of big league experience already, having made two major league appearances with Chicago before the deal. For the Braves, the rookie is expected to work out of the bullpen, giving them another arm as they reshape the back end of the staff and prepare for the next step in the catching rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Take Another Rotation Gamble With Tyler Mahle
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Jeremy Hefner now gets the challenge of helping Mahle sharpen things up in Atlanta, where the Braves have made it a priority to keep searching for usable innings. Molina had only thrown five innings for the club in 2026, so this is the kind of deal that says the Braves are willing to keep tinkering if they think there is still a path to more reliable starting help. [Read more 🡒]