Braves Lose Early NL MVP Contender Drake Baldwin to IL

The Atlanta Braves have been the best team in the Naitonal League so far this season and there's a real argument that second-year catcher Drake Baldwin has been their very best player.

Baldwin won the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year Award after a great freshman campaign. He played in 124 games and slashed .274/.341/.469 with an .810 OPS, 19 homers, 80 RBIs, 38 walks, 18 doubles, two triples, and 56 runs scored.

He has been even better this season for the Braves and has slashed .303/.389/.543 with a .931 OPS, 13 homers, 38 RBIs, 24 walks, six doubles and 39 runs scored in a league-leading 48 games. Last year, he finished the season with 3.3 wins above replacement. He already is at 2.2 wins above replacement. Unfortunately, he won't be in the mix for the foreseeable future. The Braves announced that Baldwin is going on the 10-Day Injured List due to a strained right oblique muscle.

"The Braves today selected C Chadwick Tromp to the major league roster and placed C Drake Baldwin on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique muscle," the Braves announced. "Atlanta also returned LHP Dylan Dodd from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list after optioning RHP JR Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night's game, and recalled RHP Víctor Mederos while releasing LHP Aaron Bummer from the roster."

Brutal Blow To Early-Season NL MVP Race

May 15, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves designated hitter Drake Baldwin (30) reacts after hitting a home run against the Boston Red Sox center during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

There's a real argument that if the 2026 season were to end today, Baldwin would be the National League Most Valuable Player. Baldwin's teammate Matt Olson is another guy who could be in the mix. The Braves are 32-16 and both Baldwin and Olson have been incredible, but Baldwin arguably has been at an even higher level. On top of these two, the other guys who seemingly would be at the top of the list are two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ohtani has to be considered the overall favorite. So far this season, Ohtani is slashing .265/.392/.458 with an .850 OPS, seven homers and 24 RBIs. On top of this, he has a 0.82 ERA in seven starts across 44 innings. Schwarber is leading the league with an eye-popping 20 homers in 47 games played. Baldwin has been up there with those guys, though. Unfortunately, the Braves won't have their budding superstar for the foreseeable future. Oblique injuries are tough. Right now, the club hasn't shared an expected timeline, but we've seen a handful of catchers miss time in recent memory.

Catchers who went on the IL with oblique injuries in 2024 and 2025:

Sean Murphy 2024 (missed 58 days)
Patrick Bailey 2024 (missed 10 days)
Tyler Stephenson 2025 (missed 50 days)
Jake Rogers 2025 (missed 42 days)
Nick Fortes 2025 (missed 24 days)
Miguel Amaya 2025 (missed 79… https://t.co/pnKrbf7G7s
— Min Sub (Mitchell) (@MinSub4) May 19, 2026

Hopefully, Baldwin is on the shorter side of this.

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