The Atlanta Braves added another catcher to the Major League roster ahead of their three-game series with the San Francisco Giants. They announced Monday morning that they selected Sandy León’s contract to the major league roster. To make room, the designated outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment.
Adding León provides a hint into how the Braves could be structuring their lineup going forward. Recently, they’ve been leaving designated hitter Marcell Ozuna on the bench and opting to have both Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin in the lineup. They are alternating the roles of the starting catcher and designated hitter.
Ensuring they can get more reliable bats in the lineup was a necessity, but the shift brings a drawback. Whoever starts as the designated hitter cannot move over to catcher during the game. According to MLB rules, if a player who is the designated hitter moves to the field, the team that made the move forfeits the designated hitter for the rest of the game, and pitchers have to hit. Some National League purists might not think that sounds so bad, but the Braves don’t want that.
Having a third catcher allows for the Braves wiggle room to use a pinch hitter in games and still have a catcher to turn to.
For those wondering about the Ohtani Rule, that’s when the starting pitcher can slide into the designated hitter role when already penciled into the lineup.
We should also address the possibility that Ozuna might not be on the team much longer. The MLB Trade Deadline is 10 days away, and Ozuna is reportedly available to teams. He can veto a move because of his 10-5 rights, but the Braves have to be ready for if he greenlights a move.
He’s already riding the bench due to poor performance over the last couple of months, so even if he doesn’t get traded, the aforementioned reason León could be on his way to Atlanta still applies.
The Braves added León during the 2024 season to give themselves more catching options in the system. He was a non-roster invitee during Spring Training this season and saw the ball sharply during his 11 Grapefruit League. He batted .273 with a .986 OPS with three home runs and five RBIs.
However, those numbers didn’t translate to his time with Triple-A Gwinnett. This season, he’s batting .183 with a .629 OPS, eight home runs and 14 RBIs. He’s here for depth. He can give a team pop on occasion, but his role is likely going to be helping the team in the late innings or giving Murphy or Baldwin an occasional off day.
Fairchild was acquired by the Braves in the wake of Jurickson Profar being suspended for a positive test for use of performance-enhancing drugs. He primarly served as depth in the outfield and as a pinch runner.
In 26 games, he batted .216 with a .606 OPS, no home runs and two RBIs. Since Profar’s return, they have now moved on from two outfielders, including Alex Verdugo. Eli White still serves as a higher-quality fourth outfielder.
The Braves begin their series with the San Francisco Giants starting Monday. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m