by AP Photo/David J. Phillip
The Atlanta Braves acquired catcher Sean Murphy in a three-team trade that included the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers. Jeff Passan ESPN’s.
Catcher William Contreras will join Milwaukee, and catcher Manny Piña will travel to Oakland on the deal. Athletics will also receive left-handed shooter Kyle Muller as part of the deal, the Braves’ #1 contender on MLB.com.
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
Here’s what we know so far, according to sources and reports:
The Braves get Murphy
Brewers buy Contreras, RHP Yeager (from ATL), RHP Payamps (from OAK).
A to RHP Muller, C Piña, RH Prospect Tarnok (from ATL), OF Ruiz (from MIL).@JoelSherman1 @kileymcd@ByRobertMurray @JeffPassan
Murphy finished last season with 18 home runs with a .250 batting average, .759 OPS and 66 RBI. Won a 10th place vote For MVP in the American League.
The 28-year-old actress won the Golden Glove award in 2021.
According to FanGraphs, Murphy has 11 defensive runs saved in the past two years, and last season he set a career-high 5.1 wins.
The catcher can post even better numbers after the trade, considering their struggles at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. Murphy scored .684 OPS in 162 career games and .820 in 168 away games. His batting average was 45 points higher on the road, and he had 12 home runs and 10 more doubles.
Playing half of their games at Truist Park in Atlanta could lead to a bigger breakout in 2023.
Catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Contreras won All-Star selections for Atlanta last season and teamed up to start 156 of their 162 regular season games behind the plate. Taking Murphy gives the Braves a defense upgrade against Contreras and can allow d’Arnaud to spend more time as a designated hitter.
Considering that D’Arnaud has never played more than 112 games in a season and a thumb injury has limited him to 60 games in 2021, this move should help keep him fit throughout the long season.
Going 101-61 last year, the Braves have the firepower to fight back for a World Series title.
Milwaukee got a big boost in the catcher against Victor Caratini and Omar Narváez with the addition of Contreras, who averaged .278 and 20 home runs last year. It will help provide a jolt to the line-up after the Brewers lagged behind the playoffs in 2022.
Oakland continues its rebuild after a 60-102 season and disbands Murphy ahead of the first year of arbitration, while adding major league-ready candidates in Muller and Freddy Tarnok.
