Murphy (rib) to miss 4-6 weeks, opening door for Braves' top prospect

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Sean Murphy¡¯s bid to bounce back from a frustration-filled injury-marred season will be delayed by yet another ailment.

Murphy will miss four to six weeks with a cracked left rib he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in Friday¡¯s game against the Marlins in Jupiter. Without any setbacks, the 2023 All-Star catcher should rejoin Atlanta¡¯s lineup within the first few weeks of April.

¡°You hate it for the player,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°They like to play. That¡¯s how they are wired. I know he had a really great mindset coming in this spring. It¡¯s just something we¡¯ll have to deal with.¡±

Murphy¡¯s absence could provide an early season opportunity for Drake Baldwin, who stands as the Braves' top prospect and MLB¡¯s No. 62 overall prospect. If the Braves decide Baldwin is ready to serve as their starting catcher for a few weeks, Chadwick Tromp would be his backup.

If the Braves decide to have Baldwin begin the season with Triple-A Gwinnett, Tromp could share the catching duties with Sandy Le¨®n or Curt Casali, a pair of seasoned veterans.

Knowing Murphy might be back in early April, the Braves may not want to risk losing Le¨®n or Casali by calling them up for just a week or two. Both would have to pass through waivers before being sent to the Minors and both have the right to refuse an assignment.

So, is Baldwin ready if the Braves need him to be their primary catcher to begin the season?

¡°I liked what I saw yesterday [against the Yankees] and he¡¯s going to catch Chris [Sale] tomorrow,¡± Snitker said Monday morning. ¡°We¡¯re going to evaluate the spring. But he¡¯s improved every year and his at-bats have been good.¡±

Ian Anderson has called Baldwin ¡°one of the better hitting prospects¡± he¡¯s seen. AJ Smith-Shawver raved about the strides the 23-year-old catcher made after being promoted to the Triple-A level a couple of months into the 2024 season. And veteran hurler Reynaldo L¨®pez praised Baldwin¡¯s framing abilities after his start against the Yankees on Sunday.

In other words, there¡¯s a reason Baldwin ranks No. 1 on the new Braves Top 30 Prospects list, which was released Monday.

Still, Baldwin is certainly not yet at the level Murphy reached from 2021-23, when he and J.T. Realmuto led all MLB catchers with an identical 13.4 fWAR.

Murphy served as the National League¡¯s starting catcher during the 2023 All-Star Game and he entered last year seemingly positioned to live up to the expectations set when the Braves gave him a six-year, $73 million deal on Dec. 28, 2022, a couple weeks after acquiring him from the A¡¯s in a three-team trade that sent William Contreras to the Brewers.

But everything changed when he strained his left oblique during the Opening Day game in Philadelphia and missed two months. He never found a groove when he returned and ended up hitting .193 with 10 homers and a .636 OPS in 264 plate appearances last year. He hit .251 with 21 homers and a .843 OPS in 2023, his first season with Atlanta.

With Travis d¡¯Arnaud¡¯s offseason departure, Murphy will no longer have to essentially share the catching duties once he returns. The Braves and Murphy believe more consistent playing time will help him get back to where he was before last year.

But this latest ailment has put Murphy in a position where he¡¯ll now have to prove he can do what he didn¡¯t do last year: bounce back from an early-season injury.