The Atlanta Braves signed catcher Travis D’Arnaud of Long Beach, California from the Tampa Bay Rays to a two-year contract according to MLB trade rumours on Sunday. D’Arnaud will earn $8 million per season over the next two years.
It was an eventful 2019 Major League Baseball regular season for D’Arnaud, as he played for three MLB clubs. He was also a member of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, in addition to the Rays.
In 103 games, D’Arnaud batted .251 with 16 home runs and 69 runs batted in. He also had 52 runs, 88 hits, 16 doubles, 32 walks, a .312 on-base percentage, a .433 slugging percentage, 152 total bases, and six sacrifice flies. He had career highs in runs, runs batted in and sacrifice flies.
D’Arnaud also tied career highs in home runs and walks. He previously had 16 home runs with the Mets in 2017 and 32 walks with the Mets in 2014.
D’Arnaud spent six seasons with the Mets from 2013 to 2018, before being released by the Big Apple on May 3, 2019. D’Arnaud then was signed by the Dodgers on May 5, but only spent five days as a member of the eventual National League West Division champions before moving on to Tampa Bay on May 10. It was there where D’Arnaud found a home as he played 92 games with the Rays and was instrumental in helping Tampa Bay reach the postseason.
The Braves were in need of a catcher due to the retirement of Brian McCann. However, it will be interesting to see if D’Arnaud is the everyday catcher in Atlanta or if he will be the backup. Tyler Flowers is expected to see steady playing time in 2020 as he had 11 home runs in only 85 games in 2019 with the Braves.
