r/Braves • u/game-threads • 1d ago

Off Day Thread Braves Postseason Discussion Thread - Tuesday, October 13

No game today. Feel free to discuss whatever you want in this thread.

Around the League

CLE 1 @ TB 3 - Top 9, 1 Out

Last Updated: 10/13/2026 10:50:05 PM EDT

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

7

u/scottmushroom 1d ago

But he had the nerve to trade a beloved (by me as well) All Star DH that was not doing well defensively at catcher for a top notch defensive catcher that also hit well.

It's very easy to look back at a trade and pick it apart, but at the time it made sense (and again, I hated to see him go). He developed into the catcher he is now with the Brewers and their staff. He may or may not have made the same improvements here, but that wasn't going to be a certain.

-7

u/Outrageous_Ad1938 1d ago

But did it make sense? We controlled Contreras for another 7 years at the time of the trade. He would have been given one of AA's specialty long term control contracts. Catcher is a premium position, and a good hitting catcher is quite rare. Its easier to teach defense than offense. And while hindsight is 20/20, he has turned into a good catcher.

6

u/scottmushroom 1d ago

I think its fair to say that it made sense on paper at the time. Contreras was playing primarily DH for a reason (his defense was bad) and Murphy was coming off a Gold Glove season along with having a decent to good bat. I think it's also fair to look at it and say we lost. Murphy has been plagued with injuries and hasn't hit well most seasons while Conteras has maintained a good bat and developed exceptionally defensively.

4

u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy 1d ago

Exactly. Both things can be true. It was a good move but it didn't pan out the way it was envisioned.

Besides, it may just be that the Brewers are the best fit for Contreras. Sometimes players just do better on certain teams with certain coaches.

-7

u/Outrageous_Ad1938 1d ago

Or any other hitting coach than Hyer.

8

u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy 1d ago

Oh, gotcha: Contreras would have continued being one of the worst catchers in baseball and his bat would have declined if he stayed with us. Thus, there's no advantage to keeping Contreras and the Murphy trade at least got us a plus defender. You're proving my point.