Braves add Austin Wynns, send DaShawn Keirsey Jr. back to Gwinnett

Atlanta’s catching crunch tightened again, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was the odd man out for Gwinnett before he could even settle into the Braves’ bench picture. Atlanta selected Austin Wynns from the Gwinnett Stripers and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from Gwinnett on June 4, then optioned Keirsey right back while designating Chadwick Tromp for assignment and moving Sean Murphy to the 60-day injured list.

The Murphy move carried the real weight. Atlanta had already placed its starting catcher on the injured list May 12 with a fractured left middle finger after a catcher-interference play, then signed Sandy León to cover the position in the short term. Moving Murphy to the 60-day IL made the absence a longer one and forced the Braves to keep building around stopgaps instead of a single clean answer behind the plate.

Wynns is that kind of stopgap, but with big-league mileage. The 35-year-old right-handed catcher from San Diego was drafted by Baltimore in the 10th round in 2013 out of Fresno State and made his MLB debut on June 5, 2018. Atlanta got him in a cash trade from the Los Angeles Angels on June 3, then immediately put him in the middle of a roster shuffle that has become the club’s reality around catcher.

Tromp’s removal only underscored how unstable that spot has been. He had already been optioned to Gwinnett on June 2 before the June 4 DFA, which tells you the Braves have been cycling through catching depth almost daily. That kind of churn usually means the club is more interested in preserving flexibility than in handing anyone a long runway.

Keirsey’s quick return to Gwinnett was the clearest sign that Atlanta was patching the major league bench, not making a lasting outfield commitment. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter from San Diego, drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round in 2018 out of Utah, made his MLB debut on Sept. 5, 2024 and spent part of 2025 in Minnesota, where he hit .107/.138/.179 in 74 games while going 10-for-13 in stolen-base attempts. For Gwinnett, his return puts a center field option back into the lineup almost immediately.

If Atlanta needs another catcher, Sandy León is now next in line, already occupying the depth spot behind Wynns. For the Braves, that is the story in plain terms: one veteran catcher in, one outfielder shuttled back, and Gwinnett left to absorb the ripple effect of a roster that still needs help behind the plate.