The Atlanta Braves have faced some real issues at the catcher position since the end of May.
When the Braves returned Sean Murphy from the Injured List (early May), Atlanta decided to trade away Jonah Heim to the Athletics. Since then, Murphy has played just four games (is currently on the IL), Drake Baldwin missed nearly a month with an oblique injury, and has since entered a huge slump, and the Braves have had a revolving door of backup catchers ever since letting go of Jonah Heim.
Well, obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but Jonah Heim has excelled with his new team, and the Braves could really use his services about now with such a thin group at catcher. Atlanta traded for Joey Bart a few weeks ago, but he isn’t a great option with the bat in his hands. That Jonah Heim trade looks like a big mistake on the part of the Braves front office.
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Jonah Heim Excelling with His New Team
GettySACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 01: Jonah Heim #15 of the Athletics hits an RBI single scoring Colby Thomas against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park on July 01, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Jonah Heim has really performed well with the Athletics this season.
Here is his stat comparison with the Braves versus with the Athletics:
With the Braves: 39 at-bats, .231 average, 1 HR, 8 RBI, OPS+ of 101.
With the Athletics: 95 at-bats, .253 average. 7 HR, 15 RBI, OPS+ of 122.
Now, of course, context is important, and playing in Sutter Health Park is a very hitter-friendly park, but it’s the realization that the Braves may have jumped the gun on Jonah Heim just a bit by trading him prematurely.
I don’t have his full contract details in front of me, so it’s possible that Jonah Heim does not have options left in his contract, but Atlanta could have either DFA’d him or outrighted him to the minors for the time being. The Braves obviously didn’t know that Murphy would play just four games before heading to the IL… again… for another lengthy stint, but overall, Heim excelling with the Athletics is salt in the wound to the Braves’ current catcher situation.
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Latest on Drake Baldwin/Sean Murphy
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – JULY 1: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Atlanta Braves reacts with Drake Baldwin #30 following the victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park on July 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Nobody truly knows what’s going on with Sean Murphy and his broken finger, but the latest reports from Walt Weiss indicate that he may not return before the start of August. His timeline for recovery was originally 6-8 weeks, but it’s been about six weeks since he got injured, and now it’s sounding like it’ll be another four weeks before he returns.
As for Drake Baldwin, he recently snapped a 0-for-36 streak, but since returning (potentially prematurely) from his oblique injury, Baldwin’s average has slipped into the .250s.
Before the injury, he was steadily batting over .300, and his power has hit a screeching stop in the past 15 games or so.
So, the Braves’ catching situation went from very good to all of a sudden a bit of a flaw for the team. It will be interesting to see if Atlanta thinks about bringing in another MLB player (possibly via trade) to help alleviate some of the pressure off Drake Baldwin.
Joey Bart is hitting .125 this season over 16 at-bats, but he does have one home run.
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