Sean

Murphy

The Braves have been using Murphy pretty often lately even without him hitting at all, but maybe his bat is starting to wake up. He entered tonight 6-for-44 with a 17/1 K/BB in a 2026 season that saw him get off to a late start after hip surgery and then suffer a fractured finger after returning in May.

Murphy returns to Atlanta’s catching rotation behind starter Drake Baldwin for his first game action since mid-May. The 31-year-old wound up missing nearly three months with a fractured left middle finger.

Murphy also caught all nine innings, which makes it back-to-back days that he’s done that. He also picked up his third straight multi-hit game and has a .438 batting average on his rehab assignment. He seems ready to return.

Perhaps more importantly, Murphy also caught all nine innings behind the plate as well. The veteran has played in just four games this season due to injury and hasn’t hit over .200 in an MLB season since 2023, as injuries have crushed his performance. Still, there is an aggressive market for catchers right now, so perhaps the Braves could flip Murphy to a team looking for a backup catcher at the deadline.

Murphy was placed on the injured list on May 12 and expected to miss eight weeks at the time. It’s taken a little longer to heal than expected, but Murphy is likely in line to be activated next week if his rehab assignment is setback-free. With Drake Baldwin demanding a spot in the lineup now, Murphy won’t be returning as an everyday catcher.

The Braves had to add Keirsey Jr. to the 40-man roster today or risk losing him, so they moved Sean Murphy to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot. Keirsey Jr. has hit .260/.298/.384 in 49 games at Triple-A with four home runs and 16 steals.

Murphy hit the injured list prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Cubs with a fractured left middle finger. The 31-year-old, who missed nearly six weeks to open the year recovering from offseason hip surgery, will likely be sidelined until after the All-Star break in mid-July. It’ll be journeyman Sandy León taking his roster spot as Drake Baldwin’s primary caddy during his absence.

Murphy lasted just six days on the active roster before getting hurt on a catcher’s interference during Sunday’s game. Sandy Léon will place him as Drake Baldwin’s backup, but the bigger beneficiary here is Dominic Smith, who will resume seeing more time at DH against righties with Murphy absent.

Walt Weiss said he was optimistic it wouldn’t prove to be a significant injury. The Braves traded Jonah Heim when Murphy came off the injured list, so Chadwick Tromp would seem to be their third catcher once again.

Murphy returns to Atlanta’s catching mix after missing nearly six weeks at the start of the year recovering from hip surgery. He’ll likely wind up catching more than originally anticipated entering the season since the Braves want to keep Drake Baldwin at DH as much as possible. Still, Murphy can be ignored in shallow fantasy leagues at this stage of his career.