Atlanta Braves Made a Depth Move Signing Travis d’Arnaud
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Braves now have their catching tandem in place after signing former New York Met Travis d’Arnaud. The move is a solid one considering the limited choices the Braves were facing on the free agent market.
The Atlanta Braves signed free agent catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal to complete their catching tandem of d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers. Many Braves fans will remember Travis from his years with the New York Mets.
He will give Atlanta a solid offensive option at the catcher position. d’Arnaud is a career .246 hitter with limited power(16 homers in his best season). He will, however, put the ball in play consistently and is at this point in his career likely a better hitter than Tyler Flowers.
Still with their current roster d’Arnaud or Flowers will be the 8th place hitter considering the strength of the Atlanta lineup.
d’Arnaud is a great addition when you look at the options Atlanta had on the free agent market. With the bullpen rebuilt and the catcher position addressed they can now focus on adding a top free agent for the top of their rotation or in the outfield.
Josh Donaldson remains the primary option at third base barring someone outbidding Atlanta. A very real possibility considering the amount of interest the third baseman has generated early on this off-season.
For now Atlanta seems content making depth moves filling holes on their roster and keeping their options open.
d’Arnaud’s deal is a two year deal worth$16-million with the catcher scheduled to make an even $8-million each of his two seasons with Atlanta.
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Though he is unlikely to replace the leadership that Brian McCann brought to the Atlanta clubhouse he will likely be able to replace the offensive production. At this point in his career he is more durable as well, arguably giving Atlanta an upgrade even over fan favorite Brian McCann. More to come as the off-season continues.