How could the Atlanta Braves use Travis d'Arnaud?
With Sean Murphy on the Atlanta Braves roster, fans are asking how they could see Travis d"Araud used in roles other than a backup catcher.
Braves fans are excited about the upside that Sean Murphy brings to the lineup. After trading for him and adding him from Oakland and getting him to ink an extension, the belief is that he could be a top-three catcher in baseball with a serious lineup around him.
That leaves questions about how incumbent catcher Travis d'Arnaud could be used when he's not catching. One listener asked a question on the Locked On Braves podcast about seeing him at first base.
"(He) could do it in a pinch," Jake Mastroianni said on Locked On Braves. "I have no doubt about that. If everything goes according to plan and everything is working the way the Braves want it to, Matt Olsen is going to start 155-plus games at first base so it's not something I think you have to worry about. If you do, and Olsen is out for a significant time, the Braves will probably go with someone else at first base.
"I still think d'Arnaud is going to catch a lot of games," Mastroianni said. "I think (Sean) Murphy will obviously catch the majority, and should because you got him for his defense. You want him to play back there and catch."
The switch from d'Arnaud to Murphy makes the Braves younger. d'Arnaud is currently 34 while Murphy is 28. Perhaps a change behind the plate will help keep Atlanta producing runs at the pace they did in 2022.
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