{"id":131828,"date":"2025-12-17T02:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=131828"},"modified":"2025-12-17T02:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:00:16","slug":"should-the-braves-target-this-former-all-star-catcher-as-sean-murphys-potential-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=131828","title":{"rendered":"Should the Braves Target This Former All-Star Catcher as Sean Murphy&#8217;s Potential Replacement?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2213818423.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2213818423.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2213818423.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2213818423.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Should the Braves Target This Former All-Star Catcher as Sean Murphy's Potential Replacement?\" width=\"780\" height=\"534\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Sean Murphy of the Atlanta Braves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Atlanta Braves are having quite the offseason thus far this winter. They are making all the necessary additions to help improve the roster headed into 2026. Those moves included adding depth in the bullpen by signing Robgert Suarez to a $45 million deal. The Braves cleared up their shortstop need by bringing back Ha-Seong Kim on a $20 million deal. Atlanta also added some outfield depth by bringing on Mike Yastrzemski.<\/p>\n<p>So, what is next for the Braves? Who have shown no signs of stopping. Another depth starter would certainly help bolster the starting rotation, but another position of need might be a backup catcher. Drake Baldwin won the NL Rookie of the Year last season, and Sean Murphy is slated to serve as the backup, but he underwent hip surgery at the end of last season that might keep him out to start the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More MLB on Heavy: Braves Get Good News Regarding Bo Bichette Chances After Recent Report<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Could the Braves Target Former All-Star Jonah Heim?<\/h2>\n<p>As it usually is, the free agency market for catchers is really thin. J.T. Realmuto is considered the best option at the moment, and former Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim is probably the second-best option, but after that, things get rather thin and bleak.<\/p>\n<p>So, could the Braves target Jonah Heim in free agency to serve as the backup catcher, and maybe accelerate the Sean Murphy trade talks?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5407767\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg 5038w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=782,521 782w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=425,283 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=253,169 253w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=225,150 225w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2221906939.jpg?resize=242,161 242w\" alt=\"Should the Braves Target This Former All-Star Catcher as Sean Murphy's Potential Replacement?\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5407767\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5407767\">GettySean Murphy of the Atlanta Braves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sean Murphy has been a quality catcher for the Atlanta Braves after signing a $73 million deal before 2023, but he may be past his prime and regressing as a hitter\/injuries are starting to pile up. Murphy was an All-Star in 2023 and has still shown the ability to hit a home run now and then, but it\u2019s now back-to-back seasons that Murphy has hit under .200 and failed to appear in 100 games.<\/p>\n<p>Adding Heim wouldn\u2019t exactly be an upgrade at the plate, but he could be a cheaper option for the Braves if they decided to offload Murphy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More MLB on Heavy: Braves Receive Positive Grades of Mike Yastrzemski and Robert Suarez Signings<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>What Does Jonah Heim Bring to the Table?<\/h2>\n<p>SportsTalkATL.com\u2019s Chase Irle also believes that catcher is still a free agent need, and he named Jonah Heim as a potential candidate for the Braves to sign:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne need that hasn\u2019t been discussed much is catcher, largely because the Braves currently have two very good ones on the roster. However, there is speculation that Sean Murphy could miss time to begin the season following hip surgery, which would force the Braves to acquire some depth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Heim is also looking for a new organization after being non-tendered by the Rangers. He likely wouldn\u2019t cost more than $5 million.<\/p>\n<p>Heim was also an All-Star back in 2023 and has 42 home runs since the start of 2023. He won a Gold Glove back in \u201923, and helped the Rangers win their first World Series.<\/p>\n<p>Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers worked with Heim during that breakout season a few years ago, and could give Atlanta\u2019s front office a reason to reach a deal with Jonah Heim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More MLB on Heavy: Braves-Padres Trade Idea Sends $73 Million All-Star to San Diego<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Braves<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Should the Braves target this former All-Star catcher to use if Sean Murphy misses a chunk of the season as Drake Baldwin&#8217;s backup?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":131829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Should the Braves Target This Former All-Star Catcher as Sean Murphy&#039;s Potential Replacement? 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