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Braves stay aggressive signing Travis d’Arnaud for two years, $16 million

By Seth Carter

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 26: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves scores a run in front of Travis d'Arnaud #18 of the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field on April 26, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 26: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves scores a run in front of Travis d'Arnaud #18 of the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field on April 26, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Braves have found their catcher this offseason by signing 2019 breakout Rays’ star and former Met, Travis d’Arnaud.

Atlanta has come to terms with 30-year-old catcher Travis d’Arnaud on a two-year, $16 million deal. The Braves now have $12 million allocated to the two catchers on the roster.

d’Arnaud will now be paired with one of the best pitch-framers (Tyler Flowers) in the league.

While d’Arnaud found himself as a cast-off from the Mets last season, after arriving as the centerpiece of a trade in which the Mets sent R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays.

After years of injuries and unfulfilled promise, the Mets parted ways with the former “catcher of the future.”

d’Arnaud found himself on the Dodgers and logged one at-bat before they traded him for $100k to the injury-depleted Rays. He was simply a cheap stop-gap for the ever-frugal Tampa Rays. Until they saw what he could do.

Travis d’Arnaud eventually seized the job and helped lead the Rays to 96 wins. He eventually became the primary catcher for a rotation that was one of the tops in the league in ERA.

Outside of his defense, d’Arnaud had 16 HRs and 67 RBI in only 351 ABs with the Rays last season. His batting line was .263/.323/459.

Those are pretty good offensive numbers for a guy that was thought to be a defense-first player when he broke into the league.

The Braves have an affordable option and are lined up for a fourth-consecutive top 10 WAR season at catcher in 2020.

Atlanta has addressed their needs at catcher and the bullpen.

They still have plenty of money left to concoct a reasonable plan to address needs at starting pitcher and third base and/or outfield.

Either way, this is a big bat and a good glove at a great price. It’s a good value and potentially the best catcher available after Yasmani Grandal signed with the Chicago White Sox.

Stay tuned to see what GM, Alex Anthopoulos’s next move will be. Onward we chop!

Braves need to subtract in order to add. dark. Next

What do you think about the acquisition? Was d’Arnaud a good signing? Let us know in the comments below!

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