The Atlanta Braves are getting the coup of the trade market so far in the MLB offseason.
They have traded for All-Star catcher Sean Murphy, in a three-team deal with the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers.
As always, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the framework of the 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
Murphy was a highly sought-after commodity in the trade market.
Teams such as the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox were in on him, but deemed the asking price too high.
The Braves were willing to part with Contreras, an All-Star in 2022, and pitching prospects Freddy Tarnok and Kyle Muller.
The Braves Are Going All-In
The Brewers, meanwhile, traded outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Athletics to get Contreras.
The A’s are getting two pitching prospects and a solid outfielder with projection for Murphy, while the Braves are putting together a Murphy-Travis d’Arnaud tandem at the backstop.
Milwaukee is getting another All-Star caliber catcher, although not at the same level as Murphy.
The former A’s backstop hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI in Oakland.
He had 1 Defensive Run Saved (DRS) and 8.7 Framing Runs, proving he can be an asset stealing strikes.
He also had the second-best pop time among catchers in the league.
Overall, it can qualified as an impactful move by the Braves, who are going all-in in the NL East just as much as their rivals, the New York Mets.
That one should be a fun race.
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