Travis d’Arnaud Leaves Padres Game After Foul Tip With 'dizziness'

The Atlanta Braves removed their veteran catcher, who has a history of concussions, from tonight's game as a precaution

Catcher Travis d'Arnaud has been removed from tonight's game with dizziness. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves had one position where they couldn’t really afford any other injuries - catcher. 

Already missing starter Sean Murphy, who went on the injured list after Atlanta’s season opener with an oblique strain, just saw another potential injury take away a key contributor. 

Travis d’Arnaud left tonight’s game after the fifth inning with “dizziness”, per the team, after taking a foul ball off the mask in the top of the 5th inning. The veteran catcher finished the inning before being replaced by backup Chadwick Tromp for the top of the 6th. 

Part of the concern for d’Arnaud stems from his injury history - the veteran has reportedly suffered four concussions behind the plate in his career, the most recent coming April 8th of last season. Against these same San Diego Padres, d’Arnaud collided with Padres runner Rougned Odor as the catcher was attempting to field a throw in the 4th inning. d’Arnaud’s head collided with Odor’s thigh or knee, with the veteran later being lifted from the game. 

Here is the video of Odor missing the plate https://t.co/OlAgyjuWsB pic.twitter.com/FgP4NXgw0G

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 9, 2023

d’Arnaud missed just over a month, returning on May 10th and finishing the rest of the season without incident. 

But while there’s a lot we still don’t know about head injuries, one thing is understood and accepted: That each subsequent concussion can cause more severe symptoms and longer recovery times. 

If d’Arnaud does require an injured list stint, Atlanta doesn’t have a lot of options to backfill the roster. Murphy is expected to go out for a rehab stint “next week”, but would not be immediately available to return to the roster unless Atlanta decided to forgo the rehab stint. Most hitters who miss 39 games and over a month and a half of the season require a minor league rehab stint to fix their timing at the plate. 

The Braves do have major-league veteran catcher Sandy Leon in Triple-A Gwinnett, as well as Sebastián Rivero and prospect Ryan Casteel, but none are on the 40-man roster and would need to be added if they were to be promoted to Atlanta. The Braves can move Spencer Strider, who is out for the season after elbow surgery, from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a roster spot, if needed.