All-Star catcher Brian McCann broke into the majors in 2006 with the Atlanta Braves by signing a seven year contract worth over $40 million when all was said and done.  He has been the definition of consistency for the Braves behind the plate for the duration of his career.  The Atlanta front office faced a difficult decision with the trade deadline looming last week.  It seemed that they didn’t waver in the decision that kept McCann a member of the team as we didn’t hear much of anything about the Braves shopping him around.  So, did Frank Wren and the rest of the front office make a sound decision not to unload McCann before the 2013 trade deadline?

Besides being an incredibly productive offensive catcher, McCann has been a key spiritual and locker room leader for the Braves for the better part of his time in the big leagues.  His younger teammates, such as Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, and Craig Kimbrel, look up to him and have received guidance from McCann.  He is also coming off of his best defensive year behind the plate in 2012, when he was only charged with two errors the whole season; he currently has two errors in 2013 through a little more than half as many games. 

Now let’s look at the thing that carries the most weight during late July; economics.  In the final year of his contract, the Braves owe McCann $12 million at the end of the 2013 season.  The way his contract was structured, this payout will be the most expensive throughout the duration of the deal.  In order for Wren to realistically consider unloading McCann before the deadline, he would have had to find a team to buyout at least half of his remaining contract, as well as provide a utility infielder or bullpen arm.  A deal with the Houston Astros for starting pitcher Bud Norris seemed liked a plausible solution until the Braves ended up with a surplus of starting pitchers with Brandon Beachy’s return, Alex Wood’s turnaround, and Paul Maholm’s eminent return from the disabled list. 

Lastly, we have to take into account the Evan Gattis situation.  As a first-year professional, I don’t think Gattis is ready to shoulder the load of an everyday catcher.  By not trading McCann, it allows Fredi Gonzalez to utilize Gattis in a variety of roles for the rest of the season, as they want his bat in the lineup whenever they can get it.  For example, take the August 6th game against the Washington Nationals into consideration.  Jason Heyward left the game in the first inning with a neck strain.  Gonzalez immediately went to his bench for Gattis and put him in left field to bat against lefty Gio Gonzalez.  If McCann wasn’t on the roster, the move most likely would have been to put Reed Johnson in left.  If you find someone who would rather have Johnson and Gattis over McCann and Gattis, regardless of matchups, I’ll show you a confused man.

After taking everything into consideration, I think it was extremely smart for the Braves to keep Brian McCann on the roster.  Frank Wren is playing to win this year and has no qualms about it.  He recognized the need for another reliable left-handed reliever and went out and got veteran Scott Downs from the Los Angeles Angels.  What he didn’t need, however, was to trade off an integral part of the Braves’ nucleus.