The Oakland Athletics have established a reputation for unloading their best players before having to pay them top dollar.
That trend will reportedly continue by dealing Sean Murphy.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Oakland is “getting close” to trading the 28-year-old catcher. The Atlanta Braves are believed to be a front-runner.
After winning a Gold Glove in 2021, Murphy hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs last year. Per FanGraphs, he finished with the third-highest WAR among catchers behind J.T. Realmuto and Adley Rutschman.
Murphy still has three years of arbitration eligibility, but the A’s are nowhere near contending. They went 60-102 in a year that saw the franchise trade Matt Olson (to Atlanta), Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, and Frankie Montas.
Oakland could turn catching duties over to Shea Langeliers, a top prospect acquired from Atlanta in the Olson deal.
The frugal AL West franchise trading a prominent contributor is hardly surprising. However, Atlanta would be a somewhat unexpected landing spot.
The Braves already have one of baseball’s strongest catching duos in Travis d’Arnaud and William Contreras. After batting .268/.319/.472 in a career-high 426 plate appearances last season, d’Arnaud will make $8 million in 2023 with a 2024 club option.
Contreras broke out by batting .278/.354/.506 with 20 home runs in 97 games last season. The 24-year-old has yet to begin his arbitration years.
The Braves followed their 2021 World Series win by going 101-61, but the Philadelphia Phillies dashed their repeat bid. Upgrading defensively behind the plate with Murphy could be their first step toward another title run.
UPDATE (Sunday, 12/4 at 6:55 p.m. ET): Shortly after his original report, Feinsand said Oakland is close to trading Murphy, but not to Atlanta. The St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, and Boston Red Sox have all been linked to Murphy this offseason.