Atlanta Braves Catcher Rumors: Texas Rangers Closing In On Brian McCann, Matt Wieters Available?

Sep 25, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez (27) reacts with Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (16) after hitting a home run during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

As each day passes, it looks more and more likely that when Brian McCann suits up next season, it won’t be in an Atlanta Braves uniform.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Texas Rangers (long thought to be one of the leading bidders for McCann’s services) are closing in on him:

"The Rangers are pushing hard for free agent catcher Brian McCann, a baseball source tellsGordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.  “They’re knocking his door down,” said Edes’ source."

It’s definitely no fun to think about Big Mac playing for another team, so let’s just ignore this for now and cross that bridge when we are forced to.

In other news about catchers relating to the Braves, the Orioles have said that Matt Weiters is available and some people have thought a match with Atlanta could be possible:

"11:19am: The Orioles are willing to trade catcher Matt Wieters, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  An extension is unlikely for the Scott Boras client and the Orioles believe that he is set to hit the open market after the 2015 season, barring a dramatic change in thinking."

I don’t think this is very likely considering the Braves have Evan Gattis and Christian Bethancourt both in the system, but there is no arguing that Wieters is a more complete option than either of them at this point. However, I have faith in their development, as well as the belief that Wren won’t have any interest in paying what is sure to be a steep price for the backstop.

A more recent update on the site also states that Wieters and J.J. Hardy were just “part of initial dialogue with teams” so it doesn’t look like Baltimore really wants to shop him.

Either way, the hot stove is clearly heating up and there is sure to be some more big news involving the Atlanta Braves in the coming days. Be sure to keep checking in for all the updates and our analysis.