NORTH PORT, Fla. — Nacho Alvarez Jr. had been, somewhat secretly, working on becoming a catcher since joining the Braves’ Arizona Fall League team four months ago. So when he strapped on the knee pads and chest protector Tuesday, and pulled a mask down over his face, he definitely caught some of his teammates off guard.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing with that?’ He’s like, ‘I’m catching.’ I’m like, ‘No you’re not.’ He said, ‘Yeah I am,’” Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes said. “I saw him out there before I threw my bullpen (session Tuesday), he’s out there doing catching drills and I’m like, ‘Huh, well, very versatile guy.’”
Alvarez, who has appeared in 66 games for the club over the past two seasons, primarily as a third baseman, simply is putting, “an extra tool in the toolbox,” as both he and Braves manager Walt Weiss described the experiment. Alvarez said Wednesday he has never played catcher before at any level, despite his high school coach in California always suggesting he do so.
“It’s definitely hard. It’s the hardest, I would say, the hardest position in (baseball). Everything is hard to start off with,” Alvarez said. “I feel like I’ve picked it up pretty easy. I think it’s another challenge that kind of wakes me up in the morning and gives me a challenge to approach every day.”
Alvarez added he was approached with the notion of getting behind the plate before beginning his fall league stint in October, and his initial reaction to the idea was, “Uh, what?” But then Alvarez shrugged his shoulders and decided to give it go to add versatility to his own game and increase his value as a utility player.
No one should expect Alvarez to make the Braves’ opening-day roster as a catcher. Reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy (while injured), Chadwick Tromp and Sandy León are in Braves’ camp this spring. Jonah Heim signed with the club Tuesday.
Alvarez hasn’t even caught live pitching this spring yet.
“We’re introducing it to him. He’s not a catcher now. He’s an infielder now and a really good one,” Weiss said. “There’s never anything wrong with creating some versatility, especially with a guy that has hit and has shown that he can play the infield at the major league level. It’s a nice piece to have, for us, and for (Alvarez) — for his career, really. We look at him as an infielder, first, but we’re just introducing it to him and he’s handling it well so far.”
Alvarez logged 208 plate appearances in 2025 while filling in for injured third baseman Austin Riley. He hit .234 and drove in 15 runs, and in the field made three errors in 136 chances at the hot corner.
Backhanding a breaking ball, Alvarez said, feels no different from backhanding a sharp liner in the dirt at third.
“He has good hands,” said Baldwin, Alvarez’s spring training roommate. “I just said, “Go be you back there.’ Seeing the drills (Tuesday), he looks pretty good. I was pretty impressed to be honest. Fun to see him back there.”
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