He needs to be the guy. Plain and simple. For as big of a mistake as the Sean Murphy deal looks like some two years after the fact, Atlanta Braves fans might finally be able to get over it because of what is coming down the pipeline. Yes, losing William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the three-team trade for Murphy involving the then-Oakland Athletics stinks, but Drake Baldwin does not.
As I have written about this numerous times, prospects do very little for me. I am only concerned about what you can do at the big-league level, mostly in a Braves uniform. I have seen countless unheralded minor league prospects become stars in Atlanta. Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider were not as revered coming up as Baldwin seems to be right now. Can he play? We all think he might.
One of Baldwin’s biggest proponents happens to be Braves iconic third baseman Chipper Jones.
“I love what I see from him offensively. I think the bat’s going to play. I think most people think the bat’s gonna play. But can he handle a major-league pitching staff?
In short, Jones knew he could always hit, but how Baldwin has handled the pitching staff is massive.
“And that’s been the biggest pleasant surprise for me, and from talking to some of the other coaches. So, he’s got an opportunity. Make the most of it here until Murph gets back, and we’ll kind of let the chips play themselves out once that happens.”
When pitchers like Strider and Chris Sale rave about you, you have to wonder how Murphy is feeling…
Drake Baldwin’s emergence could be bad news for Sean Murphy’s tenure
The biggest reason why Atlanta traded for Murphy in the first place was because the Braves felt they were deficient behind the plate. Travis d’Arnaud could call a great game and handle the bat well, but he did not have the arm to keep base runners honest on a stolen base attempt. Murphy has the personality of a 2×4, strikes out a ton, gets hurt a lot, but my goodness, does he have the pop time?!
The Braves kind of felt that Contreras was a bit of a redundancy of d’Arnaud, so they moved on from him in favor of Murphy. That worked out great, as Contreras has become a star in Milwaukee. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos rarely makes a bad deal or a trade. Even the ones we have reviled like the Murphy deal are more complicated than you would realize. It is why Baldwin has to work out.
For all the pieces Atlanta may have tried to put on the trading block out of the minor league system, the Braves were never going to move on from Baldwin before his estimated time of arrival. They want to see if he can do it. Frankly, I want to see him do it. Atlanta should again be one of the better teams in the National League again, but they will need that extra spark to get past the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Maybe Baldwin can provide that? I would be stunned if Murphy does that coming back from his injury.
