Team president John Schuerholz believes Yadier Molina's five-year, $75 million contract extension will make it harder for the Braves to re-sign Brian McCann. Assuming the Braves exercise McCann's $12 million team option for 2013, he's under team control for only two more years. "Sure, (Molina's deal) affects (us)," Schuerholz said. "Absolutely ... we hope (McCann's) here for a long time. But I'm pretty sure he and his agent read the papers and watch television. And they may even log onto the Internet now and then. So there are no guarantees." Provided McCann continues to produce at the rate he has the past six seasons, he should have little trouble besting Molina's deal.

Brian McCann went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in Monday's loss to the Astros. Though McCann also homered in Sunday's game, he has only two hits through his first 15 at-bats this season. We expect him to provide his usual elite production behind the plate, but it's no surprise to see the Braves 0-4 with Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla also struggling early on.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the Braves front office is "figuring on picking up" catcher Brian McCann's $12 million club option for 2013. It should be a no-brainer move for the Braves, given that the Cardinals just handed Yadier Molina a five-year contract extension worth $15 million per season. McCann is one of the best offensive catchers in the game. He batted .270/.351/.466 last year with 24 home runs, 19 doubles and 71 RBI in 527 plate appearances.

Braves general manager Frank Wren told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he's in no rush to sign Brian McCann to a contract extension. McCann is owed $11.5 million this season while his contract includes a $12 million option for 2013 or a $500,000 buyout. "...I think it's probably premature for those discussions," said Wren. "But we love him. And we know he's a big part of our club." McCann figures to benefit if Yadier Molina lands a rumored five-year, $70-75 million extension with the Cardinals, but it's hard to imagine the Athens, Georgia native going elsewhere.

David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves haven't begun extension talks with Brian McCann. McCann is owed $11.5 million this season while his contract includes a $12 million option for 2013 or a $500,000 buyout. The Braves would almost certainly exercise the option, but O'Brien believes extension talks could begin next offseason.

Brian McCann is not in the lineup Sunday. It's just a day off for the All-Star catcher. David Ross will get the start against Nationals left-hander Ross Detwiler.

Brian McCann is batting sixth Tuesday for the first time since the 2008 season. McCann, who has primarily batted third this season, is hitting just .159 (14-for-88) in 24 games since returning from an oblique injury. "Sometimes just a change of a spot helps," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Freddie Freeman will bat third Tuesday against the Marlins.

Brian McCann went 1-for-4 in Atlanta's loss to the Phillies on Monday. The Braves could muster only five hits as Cliff Lee threw his sixth shutout of the season. As for McCann, he's now hitting just .156 since coming off the disabled list on August 14. The Braves will be facing Phillies righty Vance Worley on Tuesday, whom McCann is 0-for-2 with a strikeout against lifetime.

Brian McCann drew a walk and belted a solo homer in Thursday's win over the Nationals. It was one of two solo shots the Braves had on the night, as Chipper Jones also went deep. McCann now how four homers over his last four games, giving him 23 on the year to go along with a .286 batting mark.

Brian McCann homered twice to drive in four runs and lead the Braves to an 8-3 win over the Cubs on Thursday. The Braves won three out of four at Wrigley to maintain the NL's second-best record. Not that such a mark will do them any good when it comes to deciding home-field advantage in the postseason. McCann has 22 homers and 62 RBI in 102 games this season. If not for his DL trip, he might be getting some MVP hype in a year without any obvious leader in the NL.