ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves exercised a $16 million option on Marcell Ozuna’s contract for next season but declined an $8 million option on Travis d’Arnaud, making the veteran catcher a free agent and providing another indication they’re preparing to make at least one big free-agent signing.
The Braves have made several moves in the past week to increase payroll flexibility. They cleared up around $27 million potentially by trading Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels, reworked the contracts of starting pitcher Reynaldo López and reliever Aaron Bummer to reduce their 2025 salaries and are now declining the d’Arnaud option.
They could be preparing to make a run at a shortstop — Milwaukee’s Willy Adames tops the free-agent shortstop list — or potentially trying to re-sign their own prized free agent, left-hander Max Fried.
They were expected to make a one-year qualifying offer ($21.05 million) to Fried before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline, which would assure draft-pick compensation if Fried signs with another team. He’s expected to command a contract of at least five years with an average annual value closer to $30 million than to $25 million.
The Braves haven’t shut the door on d’Arnaud, a valued team leader who could be re-signed as a free agent, presumably at a lesser salary.
It was a given that the team would pick up its club option on Ozuna, an All-Star DH who’s been Atlanta’s most consistent hitter over the past two seasons, batting .289 with 79 homers, 204 RBIs and a .916 OPS and 148 OPS+ in that span.
It was also expected that they would decline a $7 million option on reliever Luke Jackson (which they did) and instead pay a $2 million buyout, per terms of the contract he signed with San Francisco. Jackson came with Soler in a trade-deadline deal with the Giants when the injury-riddled Braves needed to add an outfield bat last summer.
But it was also widely assumed the Braves would exercise the team option on d’Arnaud, notwithstanding his age (35) and decreased production in the past two seasons since his All-Star performance in 2022, the last time he entered a season as the team’s primary catcher.
Catcher Sean Murphy was acquired from Oakland in a trade after the 2022 season and became the primary catcher, though in 2024 d’Arnaud moved back into that role when Murphy missed two months after an Opening Day oblique strain, and also when Murphy slumped badly in the second half.
D’Arnaud hit .268 with a career-best 18 homers, 60 RBIs and a .791 OPS and 117 OPS+ in 426 plate appearances in 2022. Over the past two seasons, he hit a combined .232 with a .714 OPS and 94 OPS+ in 633 PAs, though he still had 26 home runs in that span, with plenty of game-ending or go-ahead hits and homers.
Even when not in the lineup, d’Arnaud’s influence on the pitching staff and role in the clubhouse are so valued by the Braves that it was assumed he’d be back. That still seems a reasonable possibility, since that experience and leadership could be even more important after the Braves fired catching coach Sal Fasano last month and announced Fasano’s position would not be filled.
However, it’s notable that the Braves’ top position-player prospect, Drake Baldwin, has increased his stock markedly over the past two years, including an impressive showing in Triple A in 2024 that bolstered a belief that he’s ready when the Braves need him at the big-league level. Murphy and Baldwin could be the catching duo if d’Arnaud isn’t re-signed.
Braves hire new assistant GM
The Braves have hired former San Francisco Giants general manager Pete Putila as assistant GM in charge of international scouting, a source confirmed to The Athletic. Putila, 35, served two years as Giants GM under Farhan Zaidi but was moved from the position after Buster Posey’s recent hiring to replace the fired Zaidi.
Before his stint with the Giants, Putila spent more than a decade with the Houston Astros, starting out there as an intern and working his way up to become director of player development and eventually assistant GM.
(Top photo of Travis d’Arnaud: David Berding / Getty Images)
