Brian

McCann

McCann will continue to get the majority of the playing time behind the plate with Johnny Estrada out, giving him solid value in NL-only leagues.

McCann was pinch-hit for in the ninth inning of the Braves’ 13-1 blowout loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLDS on Wednesday. He finished the night 1-for-3. The 35-year-old backstop spent most of his 15-year career with the Braves -- with stops with the Astros and Yankees in between -- and he goes out with a career .789 OPS, 1,590 hits, and 282 homers along with seven All-Star appearances. The Braves will likely look for a platoon catcher to go with Tyler Flowers in the offseason -- assuming they pick up Flowers’ club option for $6 million in 2020 -- with prospect Alex Jackson also a potential option.

McCann has started all four games in the series over Tyler Flowers. He’s 2-for-8 with a double and a walk so far. The full lineup for Atlanta: Ronald Acuna, Jr. CF, Ozzie Albies 2B, Freddie Freeman 1B, Josh Donaldson 3B, Nick Markakis LF, Matt Joyce RF, Brian McCann C, Dansby Swanson SS, Dallas Keuchel SP. Dakota Hudson will start for St. Louis.

It’s been McCann over Tyler Flowers for each of the first two games. The Braves are using the same lineup Friday that they used in Thursday’s Game 1 loss.

McCann extended the Braves’ lead by taking Tyler Beede deep in the sixth. It was his 12th homer of the season and his second since returning from the injured list. The 35-year-old has hit .252/.322/.419 in a part-time role in his return to Atlanta.

There hasn’t been any word yet on whether McCann will be in the lineup tonight. He missed just the minimum with his knee sprain, and he didn’t play in any minor league rehab games.

It’s not clear whether he’ll be ready to play much by then, but with rosters expanded the Braves don’t have any reason to wait. McCann has missed the last week with a sprained left knee.

McCann suffered the injury in the third inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins. There’s no word on the severity of the sprain, but the Braves could not afford to play a catcher short for a stretch. Alex Jackson has been called up from Triple-A Gwinnett and will presumably share time behind the plate with Tyler Flowers. McCann, 35, has posted a decent .758 OPS with 10 home runs in 73 games this season for Atlanta.

That’s good news, as the Braves need Jackson right now with veteran catcher Brian McCann (knee) likely heading to the injured list. The 23-year-old has posted an .824 OPS with 25 home runs in 80 games this season at the Triple-A level. He went 0-for-10 with a walk and three strikeouts in a short stay with Atlanta back in April.

And beat writer Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that “there’s a good chance the veteran catcher will become the latest key position player added to Atlanta’s injured list.” McCann was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins after experiencing left knee discomfort in the third inning. Tyler Flowers replaced him behind the plate in the fourth. There should be a diagnosis -- and maybe a roster move -- coming on Wednesday.