NORTH PORT, Fla. -- It’s unclear whether Jonah Heim will have a role with the Braves when Sean Murphy returns from hip surgery. But with some uncertainty about Murphy’s return, Heim knows he will spend the early part of the upcoming season as Atlanta’s backup catcher.
The Braves signed Heim to a one-year, $1.25 million deal on Tuesday, which coincidentally was when Murphy was cleared to do some light running exercises for the first time since September, when he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip.
“[Heim] was the Rangers' guy when they won the World Series [in 2023],” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “To get a guy with a winning pedigree means a lot. I think that’s a great get for us.”
Drake Baldwin will serve as the Braves’ primary catcher while Murphy is sidelined. Heim’s presence will give Weiss a chance to rest Baldwin or use him as a designated hitter more frequently than he might have had Chadwick Tromp or Sandy León begun the season as Atlanta’s primary backup catcher.
Murphy didn’t have any setbacks this winter. But he and the Braves aren’t ready to target a specific time for his return.
Heim, 30, became a free agent when he was non-tendered by the Rangers on Nov. 21.
A central figure on the Texas team that won the World Series, Heim also earned the starting nod behind the plate for the American League All-Star team that summer and finished the regular season with 4.0 WAR (per FanGraphs), ranking fourth on the Rangers.
The 2023 campaign stands as his best offensive season, as he hit .258 with 18 homers, 95 RBIs, a .755 OPS and a 106 OPS+ -- all career highs. Heim also won a Gold Glove Award after another outstanding defensive showing. He was one of the most valuable defenders in baseball from 2021-23, tying for fourth overall (and ranking second among catchers) with a fielding run value of +38 in that span.
But Heim regressed sharply on both sides of the ball in 2024 and was unable to bounce back in ’25. The veteran backstop recorded 24 homers, a .602 OPS and a 76 OPS+ in 924 plate appearances and had -4 fielding runs over those two seasons.
Heim had one year of team control remaining as an arbitration-eligible player, but Texas opted not to tender him a contract for 2026. He spent five seasons with the Rangers after being acquired from the Athletics in the February 2021 trade that also sent Khris Davis and Dane Acker to Texas for Elvis Andrus, Aramis Garcia and cash considerations.
Heim made his MLB debut with the Athletics in 2020, appearing in 13 games. His arrival on Aug. 25, 2020, came more than seven years after he was selected in the fourth round of the ’13 MLB Draft by the Orioles out of high school. Before reaching MLB, the New York native was traded twice and amassed more than 2,000 plate appearances in the Minors.