ATLANTA -- Kurt Suzuki was a beloved and productive player during his two seasons with Atlanta. But he never seemed to be more than a fallback option for the Braves, who continue to search for a primary catcher to pair with Tyler Flowers.
Suzuki's tenure in Atlanta officially came to a close on Monday, when he agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Nationals. The potential value of the deal matches the one the Braves provided Flowers, who in August agreed to a one-year $4 million extension that includes a $6 million option ($2 million buyout) for 2020.
When Flowers agreed to the deal, it became clear the Braves would like to avoid tripling down by having Flowers and Suzuki share the catching duties on essentially an even basis for a third straight season. They have remained committed to finding a proven veteran who can serve as the primary catcher and push Flowers into more of a traditional backup role.
J.T. Realmuto has been at the top of the wish list for every team that is seeking a catcher. But thoughts of Realmuto landing in Atlanta thawed last week, when the Marlins continued to provide indications of being hesitant to move him to a National League East rival.
While the Braves will continue to monitor Realmuto's market with the confidence of knowing they have the quality prospect depth necessary to strike a significant deal, they will also keep tabs on Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos, who stand as the top two catchers on the free-agent market.
Suzuki tallied an .825 OPS and totaled 31 home runs over two seasons with the Braves. Before hitting 19 homers in 2017 and 12 in 2018, he had not produced a double-digit homer total since 2011. His 18.89 home runs per at-bat dating back to July 1, 2017, ranks 18th among all National League players, second among NL catchers (minimum 500 at-bats).u5:p
While Suzuki's bat still has some value, his arm and framing metrics ranked among the game's worst this past season. Per Statcast™, Suzuki's 2.08 pop time to second base ranked third-worst among qualified catchers. Per Stat Corner, he ranked as the game's fourth-worst pitch framer in terms of Runs Above Average.
Flowers ranked second worst among qualified catchers with a 2.14 pop time to second base, but the Braves still place significant value on his status as one of the game's top pitch framers. There is also some hope that a year removed from wrist surgery, he'll regain some of the offensive value he produced in 2017, when he homered 12 times and produced an .823 OPS. He tallied eight homers with a .700 OPS this past year.