The Braves had absolutely awful injury luck last season, and this year hasn’t started much better. Catcher Sean Murphy was hit in the back by a wild pitch on Friday. He stayed in the game at that point, but on Monday, the team announced that he will miss four to six weeks with a cracked rib.
Sean Murphy cracked a rib when hit by a pitch Friday, and the #Braves say he's expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Top prospect Drake Baldwin is likely to have opportunity to begin the season as Atlanta's starting catcher.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 3, 2025
Due to the injury, he’ll begin the season on the Injured List but may be able to return before the end of the first month of the season. Murphy was limited to 72 games last season and hit .193 with 10 home runs and a .281 wOBA. This offseason, the Braves lost Travis d’Arnaud to free agency and did not add anyone at the position.
Fantasy baseball impact
Chadwick Tromp was lined up to be Murphy’s backup, but he’ll likely have a much larger role to open the season. The 29-year-old has been Triple-A depth for the Braves the past few seasons and has hit a combined .250 with four homers and a .269 wOBA in 26 games over the last three seasons.
The other big story to watch with Murphy’s injury is the potential emergence of Drake Baldwin. Baldwin was ranked as the No. 63 prospect coming into the season by MLB Pipeline. He split last season between Double-A and Triple-A.
In his 124 games, he hit .276 with 16 home runs, 88 RBI and a .362 wOBA. He had a much better walk rate and strikeout rate in Triple-A and looked ready for the next level with a 135 wRC+ in his 72 games with the Gwinnett Stripers.
Baldwin could start the season in the majors as a result of the injury to Murphy, and he could end up splitting time with Murphy with a strong start to the season since he’s a lefty and Murphy is a righty.
Keep an eye on Baldwin’s progress this spring and also keep a close eye out to see if the Braves add more depth to the position before Opening Day.
