The Atlanta Braves have signed catcher Travis d'Arnaud to a two-year, $16 million contract, the team announced in a statement on Sunday afternoon:
#Braves Sign C Travis d’Arnaud: pic.twitter.com/E2eCrKVobF
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 24, 2019
The Braves had been in the market for a catcher following the retirement of veteran backstop Brian McCann, and they have shored up another area of need on a relatively cheap deal.
D'Arnaud spent the majority of the 2019 season with the Tampa Bay Rays, slashing .263/.323/.459 with 16 homers and a 107 OPS+ in 92 games.
The 30-year-old from Long Beach, CA began his career with the New York Mets, where he finished seventh in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2014.
D'Arnaud hit 12 homers and posted an .825 OPS in just 67 games the following year as the Mets reached the World Series, and it seemed as though he would hold down the position for quite some time.
However, injuries got in the way. D'Arnaud missed time in 2016 while also suffering through the worst season of his career. Although he had a decent bounce-back campaign in 2017, d'Arnaud played in just four games in 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Mets cut d'Arnaud loose after he began the 2019 season in a 2-for-23 slump, and after just one game with the Dodgers, he finally made his way to Tampa Bay.
D'Arnaud was a revelation in his first two months in Tampa. He posted an .878 OPS in June before slashing .342/.425/.711 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in July.
Atlanta has not let up since signing left-handed reliever Will Smith. The Braves fortified their bullpen by re-signing Chris Martin, and now they will hope that d'Arnaud can replicate his success as part of a potent Braves lineup.
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