catcher Sandy Leon He has returned to the Braves on a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com trade tracker. The veteran was assigned to the Class 3A Gwinnett Stripers, where he spent most of the past two seasons. Leon appeared in five games for Atlanta in the final two months of the 2025 season.
Leon, 36, joins Atlanta as a free agent ahead of the 2024 season. He played in 79 games for the Stripes that year but did not appear in the majors for the first time since 2011. Leon played twice with the Warriors last season. He returned to Major League Baseball on July 22 as a defensive reliever. Leon was sent back to Triple-A on Aug. 15 and returned a few weeks later. Leon had just one hit in 12 at-bats, and although he hit three home runs, he was having a great year. Craig Kimbrel September 14th.
Leon made his Nationals debut in 2012. He played for seven different teams in 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). The defenseman spent his longest stretch in the majors with Boston from 2015 to 2019. He played in 358 regular season games with the Red Sox. Leon was a member of the 2018 World Series championship roster.
The 2016 season was Leon’s only season as a batsman at the highest order. He posted a 124 wRC+ in 283 games. Leon hit seven home runs and drove in 35 while playing with Christian Vazquez. He would never have a better season than a 66 wRC+. Leon is better known for his work behind the plate. He eliminated at least 36 percent of potential base stealers in each of his first three seasons in Boston. Statcast began tracking fielding run value in 2018, and Leon ranked fourth among receivers that season.
Leon will be Atlanta’s depth option Derek Baldwin and Sean Murphy. The Braves finished sixth in OPS last season. Baldwin slashed .274/.341/.469 in his first MLB game and became one of the favorites to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. Murphy failed to hit .200 for the second straight year but hit 16 homers in just 337 games. Murphy was injured during his tenure in Atlanta, so if injuries strike again, Leon could take on backup duties behind Baldwin.
