ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 23: Chadwick Tromp #48 of the Atlanta Braves takes the field before the game against the Houston Astros at Truist Park on April 23, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesThe Los Angeles Dodgers have spent the past week reshaping their catching depth after making changes to a position group that have seen some setbacks this season. Now, the defending World Series champion has brought in a name familiar to their National League rival Atlanta Braves.
The move comes shortly after Atlanta parted ways with a veteran backstop who had spent years back and forth with the Braves, but if he’s able to stick with the Dodgers and help drive a third straight championship, his days in Atlanta might be officially over for good.
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Chadwick Tromp’s latest stint with the Braves came to an end earlier this season and now he’ll be looking to provide some needed depth for the Dodgers.
“(The) Dodgers have further bolstered their catching depth by signing Chadwick Tromp to a minor league deal, as he joins (the Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City Comets) today,” Comets broadcaster Alex Freedman reported on Thursday. “(Tromp) has appeared in the majors with three teams over parts of seven seasons.”
Braves fans will recall that five of those seasons have included stints with the Braves, who have since settled on a catching duo of Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy. He has also joined the Baltimore Orioles in two different stints between time with the Braves, though the Dodgers are a completely new organization for him.
“This is the first time in a while that Tromp signs with someone other than those two clubs,” Anthony Franco noted for MLB Trade Rumors. “He’d yo-yoed between Baltimore and Atlanta on a series of minor league deals going back to 2021. Tromp doesn’t hit much at the MLB or Triple-A level, but he’s a steady hand defensively who clearly made a strong clubhouse impression with both of his previous organizations.”
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The Dodgers' decision to bring Tromp aboard has come as Los Angeles adjusts its own catching depth with some uncertainty ahead. Tromp appears to be a direct replacement for another veteran backstop who was released from Oklahoma City on Thursday.
“That explains why Los Angeles released Chuckie Robinson earlier,” Franco added. “Tromp can work with rookie Eliezer Alfonzo as depth behind the team’s big league catching duo of Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt.”
The Dodgers have been without star backstop Will Smith as he works through a neck injury and his primary backup, Dalton Rushing, has been sidelined with an elbow injury.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com