Sean

Murphy

Murphy underwent hip surgery in September. It sounds like there’s a good chance he’ll be unavailable on Opening Day, but hopefully for not too much longer than that. If the Braves do grow more concerned about Murphy’s readiness, they could add a modestly priced DH-type like Rhys Hoskins, Miguel Andujar or Rowdy Tellez. Fortunately, those kinds of players tend to sign pretty late. If Murphy does prove good to go, then then plan would be for he and Drake Baldwin to share time between catcher and DH.

Murphy will undergo surgery and is done for the year. Sandy León was called up to serve as Drake Baldwin’s backup. This should end the days of the Braves’ second catcher occasionally serving as a DH, so Marcell Ozuna will benefit.

Murphy also scored on Jurickson Profar’s go-ahead single to center after walking in the eighth. He was starting for just the second time in six games, as the Braves have stopped giving either of their catchers time at DH with Marcell Ozuna having resumed playing every day. Ozuna, though, is struggling of late, which might open the door some. Murphy is batting .209/.313/.429 with 16 homers in 319 plate appearances for the season.

Murphy will get a day of rest to open the four-game set against Miami. Drake Baldwin is behind the plate, and Marcell Ozuna will be the designated hitter.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker is rolling with an ice-cold Sean Murphy for the second straight contest at DH, with Ozuna on the bench. The 34-year-old slugger isn’t hitting for average at all, but he does have a pair of round-trippers in his last seven games.

Ozuna figures to mostly play against lefties after going untraded Thursday, but his nice game last night, when he singled in a run, walked three times and plated the go-ahead run in the 10th with a sac fly, has him in there against righty Brady Singer today. Sean Murphy is taking a seat after starting over Drake Baldwin against lefties the last two days. If Ozuna gets hot, it’d be bad news for both Braves catchers.

Murphy got the Braves on the board with an RBI double off of Jack Leiter in the second inning that pulled them to within two runs at 3-1. That would be as close as they would get. The 30-year-old backstop is now slashing .233/.320/.498 with 16 homers and 41 RBI through his first 256 plate appearances on the season.

Sean Murphy is at DH and batting sixth on Tuesday night at Truist Park. Ozuna has been on Atlanta’s bench for six of their last eight games as his ongoing struggles continue. The 34-year-old veteran, who has been playing through a hip issue this season, figures to be on the move at the trade deadline, but that isn’t a lock.

Ozuna sat out two of the Braves’ final three games heading into the All-Star break and he finds himself right back on the pine once again on Friday evening. The Braves will once again use it as a way to get both catchers into their lineup with Sean Murphy functioning as the team’s designated hitter and batting fifth against Ian Hamilton and the Yankees.

Ozuna, who has been the subject of trade rumors recently, closes out a disappointing first half with two homers in his final three games. He finishes batting .239/.364/.396 with 13 homers and 42 RBI through 89 games. The 34-year-old veteran slugger deserves some credit for playing through a lingering hip issue, which appears to have adversely impacted his power production. It’ll be interesting to see if the impending free agent attracts any attention at the upcoming trade deadline. It’ll be Sean Murphy at DH on Sunday afternoon against St. Louis.