Angels' hot-hitting catcher given warm welcome by former team

While the Braves and Angels' series was a hotly contested one, with the Angels taking two out of three games, there is little doubt that both teams enjoyed the warm welcome that former Braves and current Angels' backstop Travis d'Arnaud received in Truist Park last Tuesday night.

Prior to the game, d'Arnaud and his former manager both expressed how happy they were for the catcher to back in the stadium he spent five seasons calling home. Brian Snitker said, "He's one of my favorites that I've had the opportunity to manage here. All he's meant for this organization over the years and what he's done for our club. He's a pretty special guy."

While d'Arnaud's longest time spent with a team technically was with the New York Mets, there likely is not a single fan outside of The Big Apple that remember d'Arnaud as anything other than a Brave. That is where his best baseball was played, and he was a key player in many postseason runs in Atlanta, most notably their World Series championship in 2021.

Snitker did not just have words about d'Arnaud as a player, but also vouched for his future once the catcher does decide to hang up his cleats. "He was a go-to guy in the clubhouse for players," the Braves manager said. "I mean, he has a great feel. If he ever wanted, to me, I look at him as a manager one day, and I think he would do a great job."

Given the Angels' current ineptitude coming from interim manager Ray Montgomery, maybe d'Arnaud should consider taking on a player/coach role in Anaheim for the remainder of 2025. He has been a rock solid contributor on offense since June, and as far as his relationship with the rotation goes, it is very clear that d'Arnaud gives the Angels' starters a savvy, more reliable backstop than young stud Logan O'Hoppe currently provides.

d'Arnaud was greeted to cheers in his first at-bat back at Truist Park on Tuesday. And while he didn't find any success that night, going 0-4, the Angels as a team were able to win the series 2-1, giving d'Arnaud some bragging rights over his old teammates in Atlanta.

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