Braves catcher Sean Murphy will take another significant step this week toward his return to the team.

Murphy is expected to join Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday to begin his rehab assignment. The Gwinnett Stripers host the Nashville Sounds at 7 p.m. Friday.

The 31-year-old Murphy had surgery on his right hip in September. He went through two simulated games last week, including one Saturday in which he had six at-bats and caught, according to Braves manager Walt Weiss.

Beginning his fourth season with the Braves, Murphy was an All-Star in 2023, but played in just 166 games over the past two seasons.

The Braves currently have two catchers on the big league roster with Drake Baldwin, who is leading the team in hits (14), home runs (5) and RBIs (13), and Jonah Heim, who is 0-for-7 with three walks at the plate, but who has caught all three of the Braves’ shutouts this season.

“Those are conversations that are out in front of us,” Weiss said Saturday about the possibility of having three catchers on the roster. “A lot of times, these things tend to take care of themselves. We’ll see what it looks like when ‘Murph’ is ready to come back, and we’ll deal with it.”

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