D'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud will enter the lineup for the first time this season after Logan O'Hoppe caught the Angels' first two contests. Though he posted a respectable .738 OPS over 341 plate appearances while filling in for Sean Murphy with Atlanta in 2024, d'Arnaud will likely struggle to reach that level of playing time this season. The 25-year-old O'Hoppe is viewed as both the Angels' present and future behind the dish, so d'Arnaud may be in store for just a couple starts per week when the young backstop needs a rest.

The Angels signed d'Arnaud to a two-year, $12 million contract Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

Atlanta declined d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025 last week, but the veteran catcher quickly found a multi-year pact with a new organization. It's not an ideal landing spot for fantasy since d'Arnaud will be second on the catching depth chart behind Logan O'Hoppe, but he could still play enough to be a viable option in deeper formats. D'Arnaud, who turns 36 in February, slashed .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs over 99 regular-season games in 2024.

Atlanta declined d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025 on Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said last month that the team planned to exercise d'Arnaud's option, but evidently feelings changed since then. The emergence of catching prospect Drake Baldwin could have played into the club's decision, as Baldwin is viewed as nearly major-league ready and could potentially be paired with Sean Murphy in 2025. D'Arnaud, who turns 36 in February, should be able to land a starting job somewhere after slashing .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs over 99 games in 2024.

Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Friday that the team plans to exercise d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025, Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game Atlanta reports.

EDGE Analysis

Between that and Sean Murphy's $15 million salary, Atlanta will be paying a healthy $23 million to its catching duo in 2025. D'Arnaud usurped Murphy as the club's preferred starter down the stretch this season and finished with a .238/.302/.436 batting line and 15 home runs in 2024. He and Murphy are likely to share the catching duties pretty evenly in 2025.

D'Arnaud isn't in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against San Diego.

EDGE Analysis

After starting Game 1 of the series and going 1-for-4 with a double, d'Arnaud will now take a seat on the bench while Sean Murphy catches for Max Fried, batting eighth.

D'Arnaud is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud will get a breather Sunday after hitting a walk-off solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 win over Kansas City. Sean Murphy will start behind home plate and bat seventh.

D'Arnaud went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud has had few big moments in September -- he's hitting just .163 (7-for-43) with two extra-base hits this month. The walk-off blast was his 15th homer of the year, making this the fourth season in his career he's reached that mark. The catcher has added a .236/.301/.439 slash line with 48 RBI, 39 runs scored, 16 doubles and one stolen base over 335 plate appearances. He has been evenly splitting time behind the dish with Sean Murphy lately.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud will take a seat for a second consecutive game, giving way to Sean Murphy behind the dish. D'Arnaud hasn't had a multi-hit game since Aug. 13.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud started the series opener Tuesday, but he'll begin Wednesday's contest on the bench. Sean Murphy will start at catcher for Atlanta and will bat eighth.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

EDGE Analysis

D'Arnaud and Sean Murphy have been alternating turns behind the plate since the former returned from the paternity list Sept. 12. After d'Arnaud started at catcher and went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in Saturday's 6-2 win, Murphy will enter the lineup Sunday.