Just one offseason after acquiring Matt Olson from Oakland, the Braves swung another bargain with the A’s, trading for catcher Sean Murphy.
A controllable asset at a position of value? The Atlanta Braves are definitely interested.
The Oakland Athletics fire sale will continue until they leave for Las Vegas, evidently. With no signs of life coming from the Bay Area (minus the other side in San Francisco), Oakland has dealt another one of their star players. This time it’s catcher Sean Murphy.
While Atlanta possesses a more than capable catcher in William Contreras, the brother of Willson Contreras, Murphy is more of a proven asset defensively.
Sean Murphy trade details
The complete trade trickled out little by little. Eventually, we’ll have the full details. The Milwaukee Brewers were also involved in said trade, acquiring William Contreras from Atlanta in the process. These are the details that have been reported so far.
Braves Get
C, Sean Murphy
Brewers Get
C, William Contreras
RHP, Joel Payamps
RHP, Justin Yeager
Athletics Get
C, Manny Pina
RHP, Freddy Tarnok
LHP, Kyle Muller
OF, Esteury Ruiz
The Athletics also acquired Royber Salinas from the Braves, as well.
Sean Murphy trade grades: Braves get best of A’s again
It’s odd that Oakland would want anything to do with Atlanta after the Matt Olson trade, but here we are. The players the Braves sent to the Athletics in that deal — the likes of Christian Pache and Shea Langeliers, haven’t exactly turned out well for Oakland. The Braves, meanwhile, got a suitable Freddie Freeman replacement.
Atlanta Braves trade grade: B. The team which acquires the best player in the deal usually wins the trade, no? Sean Murphy is a talented catcher, and a well-rounded one at that. He won’t become a free agent until 2026, which fits Alex Anthopoulos’ mold in terms of the kind of controllable asset he’s looking for.
Catcher had been a position of strength for the Braves even before this deal — as they had Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud and Manny Piña on the roster beforehand. Yet, none of them are Murphy, a young catcher with All-Star potential at his best.
Oakland Athletics trade grade: C. At a certain point, the rebuild has to end, no? Oakland hasn’t been good for awhile, and is dealing with stadium issues that may force relocation to boot. Athletics fans deserve better, but won’t get it for quite some time.
The prospect here from Oakland’s perspective it good. Kyle Muller was Atlanta’s No. 1 ranked prospect before last season.
Royber Salinas is arguably the most intriguing prospect piece for the A’s front office, as well.
Milwaukee Brewers trade grade: A. I have a tough time understanding why Milwaukee was needed in this trade at all. Essentially, the Brewers gave up their No. 9 prospect, Esteury Ruiz, for All-Star catcher/DH William Contreras. Sure, Contreras may not project well defensively behind the plate much longer, but he’s a very capable hitter and is just 24 years old.