After catcher Brian McCann strained his left oblique muscle in the Atlanta Braves' thrilling 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, the Braves currently find themselves in the same position as the San Francisco Giants: grasping for a starting catcher.
While the Giants have resorted to backup Eli Whiteside and call-up Chris Stewart, the Braves have backup David Ross, who has been good but certainly won't fill McCann's cleats.
McCann is expected to be out until at least mid-August, and there's a chance he could be out for longer. That puts the Braves in a tough position right now. They could ride it out now with Ross and hope McCann stays healthy wants he resumes playing, or they could try to make a move for a better catcher than Ross.
The only problem is, as the Giants have discovered, there are really no legitimate high-impact catchers on the market. The only catcher that could step in as a solid starter would be the Cincinnati Reds' Ramon Hernandez, and there's still no telling of the Reds are willing to give him up.
Ever since his first full campaign with the Braves in 2006, McCann has been one of the league's best catchers, and he's clearly on the league's most underrated. With the Giants' Buster Posey out this season, McCann has been the unquestionable best catcher in baseball, with a .306 average with 18 home runs and 55 RBI.
Even if the Giants don't land someone like Hernandez, they've significantly helped themselves with the acquisition of Beltran. There's no one on the market right now that could help the Braves' offense in the same way.
The Braves will quickly find out how significantly McCann's injury will hurt them, and if he doesn't come back 100 percent later in the season, the Braves may as well be out of the picture in the National League.
McCann is just that important to them.
Hal Gill John Madden Petr Kalus Colton Gilies Justin Falk Robbie Eal
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