WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 01: Sean Murphy #12 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 01, 2022 in Washington, DC. Braves (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Grading the four biggest Atlanta Braves offseason moves.
The Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series then seemed like they would replicate it in 2022 when they came back and won the division late. Unfortunately, they ran into a hot Philadelphia Phillies team destined to win the National League Pennant.
The Braves have been hard at work trying to improve themselves. Luckily for them, the roster is already well-situated. Many of their moves and decisions have been a bit more minor compared to other teams.
How have the Braves done so far? These four moves stand out as the biggest and deserve grades of praise and criticism.
1) The Braves won the Sean Murphy sweepstakes at a hefty price
The Braves surprised just about everyone when they became the winners of the Sean Murphy sweepstakes. The former Oakland Athletics catcher was a hot target at the start of the offseason and somehow ended up on a roster with two 2022 All-Star catchers. One of them, William Contreras, was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers in this three-team deal.
There is something to debate about the trade. Contreras is younger and looks like he will grow into a much better hitter than Murphy. Murphy does bring better defense. We can cautiously call it a draw with some doubts about whether or not the Braves actually got much better.
More questionable is the fact that Travis d’Arnaud is still on the roster. How will he and Murphy share time behind the plate in 2023?
Making sure they extended Murphy does save this move. Locked up under one of those team-friendly contracts Atlanta loves to hand out, the Murphy trade and extension earns itself a better than average grade.
Sean Murphy trade and extension grade: B-