It’s no secret that the St. Louis Cardinals that are interested in upgrading at catcher this offseason, and the Cardinals have been linked to Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy as a potential trade target on numerous occasions.
With that in mind, ESPN’s David Schoenfield put together a potential trade between the Cardinals and the A’s that would net Murphy for St. Louis, but is it too high of a price to pay?
Would this St. Louis Cardinals trade for Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy work?
In this ESPN+ article (subscription required) detailing eight trades Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle would each like to see happen during the MLB Winter Meetings, Schoenfield proposed a trade where St. Louis would land Murphy while the A’s would receive Nolan Gorman in return in a one-for-one trade.
One of the biggest assets that Murphy will bring to any team (including the Cardinals) is three additional years of team control, meaning Murphy will be the backstop of the near future wherever he lands. If St. Louis were to send Gorman to Oakland, the A’s would have an infielder with MLB experience already for the future as well, with the 22-year-old Gorman not scheduled to be a free agent until the 2029 campaign.
Gorman slashed .226/.300/.420 so there is plenty of room to grow at the plate, and the 14 home runs in 283 at-bats give a glimpse into the potential power that he could bring to Oakland. Those 14 homers were tied for the fourth-most on the Cardinals last season, and Schoenfield believes that the A’s could move Gorman back to third base, a position where he was blocked in St. Louis by Nolan Arenado.
If the Cardinals do indeed sign a shortstop (with rumors saying they could be a fall-back for Dansby Swanson if the Atlanta Braves aren’t able to retain him), St. Louis can keep Tommy Edman at second base and Gorman would once again be without a position. In that scenario, a trade to Oakland would make sense. Murphy, however, is a hot commodity, so the Cardinals may not have the luxury of waiting to see where all of the free agent shortstop dominoes fall before making a move.
Would a one-for-one swap benefit both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland A’s? Would you make this trade if you were the general manager in St. Louis or Oakland? Let us know in the comments section below.