Braves trade for Gold Glove A's catcher Sean Murphy
The Atlanta Braves have traded for Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy in a three-way deal involving the Milwaukee Brewers.
ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the deal, which the Braves later confirmed. The Braves are sending 24-year-old All-Star catcher William Contreras to the Brewers and 35-year-old catcher Manny Piña to the A's as part of the deal, which includes several other players.
Murphy, 28, has played all four of his MLB seasons with the A's after the franchise selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. He was the regular starter behind the plate in Oakland the past three seasons. He won a Gold Glove in 2021 and has developed into a reliable source of power at the plate.
In 148 games this past season, Murphy slashed .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. He tallied 17 home runs and 59 RBI in 2021. He joins a team with a talented young core that secured the NL East title in 2022 and won the World Series in 2021. Per Spotrac, Murphy is under team control for three more seasons and slated for free agency in 2026, barring a new deal.
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Atlanta gets: C Sean Murphy
Oakland gets: LHP Kyle Muller, UT Esteury Ruiz, RHP Freddy Tarnok, RHP Royber Salinas, C Manny Piña
Milwaukee gets: C William Contreras, RHP Justin Yeager, RHP Joel Payamps— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 12, 2022
The Braves featured two All-Star catchers last season. Travis d'Arnaud, 33, anchored home plate while slashing .268/.319/.472 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI in 107 games. Contreras joined him as an All-Star despite his part-time status. He slashed .278/.354/.506 with 20 home runs and 45 RBI in 97 games and projects for a bigger role in Milwaukee.
Piña played in just five games last season and projects as a backup in Oakland. Shea Langeliers, a 2019 first-round pick who saw limited action in 40 games as a rookie in 2022, now projects to take over as Oakland's starting catcher next season.
Fansided's Robert Murray and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal report that the A's are also acquiring 23-year-old outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz from the Brewers as part of the deal. The Braves are sending 25-year-old pitcher Kyle Muller to Oakland, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. The Braves also announced that they're sending 21-year-old pitching prospect Royber Salinas and 24-year-old pitching prospect Freddy Tarnock to the A's. Finally, Oakland is sending 28-year-old pitcher Joel Payamps to Milwaukee, while the Brewers will receive 24-year-old relief prospect Justin Yeager from Atlanta, The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports.
