The Braves reinstated catcher Sean Murphy from the injured list on Monday and designated Jonah Heim for assignment to clear room on the active roster. Atlanta’s 40-man count dropped to 39 with the move.
Heim’s departure comes after a brief, uneven run in Atlanta. The Braves signed him to a $1.5 million free agent deal early in Spring Training, then used him for 12 games while Murphy recovered from hip labrum surgery and Drake Baldwin established himself as the clear No. 1 option behind the plate. Atlanta could have kept three catchers, but the club did not want to devote two of its four bench spots to the position.
In limited action, Heim hit.231/.311/.410 with one home run in 45 plate appearances. He did not throw out any of the 13 runners who tried to steal against him, and he was behind the plate for six wild pitches in 103 innings while committing no passed balls. For a team that already knew what it had in Baldwin and was waiting on Murphy, that was not enough to make the roster math work.
The Braves now have five days to line up a trade or place Heim on waivers. If they cannot find a deal, he will probably be released. That gives the club a short window to see whether another team values him more as depth than Atlanta did after Murphy’s return.
Murphy, meanwhile, is back after working through the end of his 20-day rehab window. He played through hip discomfort before undergoing surgery last fall, and the Braves activated him on the day of the roster move. He hit 16 home runs last year, but he also struck out at a career-high 31 percent clip while batting below.200 for a second straight season. Murphy was scheduled to catch in his season debut at T-Mobile Park, with Baldwin set to start at designated hitter for a second consecutive game.
Heim’s stay was short, but the move still says something about where the Braves see their catching depth. Baldwin has taken hold of the primary job, Murphy is back, and Atlanta moved quickly rather than carry a third catcher into the regular rotation. For Heim, a former starting catcher for the Rangers who won an All-Star nod and a Gold Glove in 2022-23, the next stop now hinges on whether a trade partner emerges in the next five days.
