Sean Murphy is on the move.
After the first domino in the catching market fell last week, with Willson Contreras signing a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Atlanta Braves now have their new catcher for 2023.
Today, the Braves acquired Murphy from the Oakland Athletics.
The full trade package is not yet known, but the Athletics were looking to move Murphy and clear a spot for top catching prospect Shea Langeliers.
The A’s have now done just that.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the news of the Braves most recent trade.
BREAKING: Catcher Sean Murphy has been traded to the Atlanta Braves, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 12, 2022
Braves Land Murphy
Several teams were in on the Murphy sweepstakes.
The Cardinals, Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Boston Red Sox were all said to be in the mix.
But now, Murphy heads for Atlanta, and will assume catching duties in 2023.
This may mean that Travis d’Arnaud could be on his way out, that is, if he was not included in the trade package, which again, is not yet known.
Murphy hit for a .250 average during the regular season and crushed 18 home runs.
The 28-year-old won a Gold Glove in 2021 and continued to play solid defense behind the plate in 2022, posting a .991 fielding percentage, registering 878 putouts, committing just eight errors, and catching 19 runners attempting to steal a base.
The Wright State product now joins his former teammate Matt Olson in Atlanta.
The Braves won 101 games during the regular season and secured their fifth consecutive National League East division title.
