Houston Astros: Another catcher on radar for defending champs

We already know before the MLB Winter Meetings had started that the Houston Astros had interest in free agent catcher Willson Contreras. Now, the Astros have interest in another starting catcher who’s not on the free agent market. That player is Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics.

Martin Maldonaldo is on the last year of his contract and the Astros have two strong candidates to be the Astros future catcher in prospects Yainer Diaz and Korey Lee. But, as of now, the near future of the Astros catching position is wide open after Maldonaldo’s contract ends.

Dusty Baker spoke to the media at the winter meetings about why the Astros didn’t acquire Willson Contreras at last season’s MLB trade deadline. At the deadline, the trade was starting pitcher Jose Urquidy for catcher Willson Contreras. Urquidy, at the time, was remarkable and had a great month of July with a 3-1 record, 2.73 ERA, and 0.85 WHIP, his best pitching month of the 2022 season, so you can understand why Baker and owner Jim Crane denied the trade.

Now, the Astros will look to add Contreras as the two sides will continue to meet and discuss if there is a good fit.

Another direction for the Houston Astros at catcher?

The other route the Astros are looking at now is Sean Murphy. Sean Murphy is with an organization (Oakland) that is dealing with rumors of relocation, building a brand new ballpark, and looking to continue to rebuild their roster. The A’s traded away two cornerstone players in their organization last season, with Matt Chapman heading to the Toronto Blue Jays and Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves. They also traded away their top starting pitcher in their rotation before the 2022 season, with Chris Bassitt going to the New York Mets.

Now looking to trade away Sean Murphy, the A’s are looking to bring in more talented, young prospects that could help the future of their franchise.

At least a third of the league has entered the Sean Murphy sweepstakes, including the Astros having now “emerged as a potential suitor.” Murphy finished the 2022 season with a .250 batting average, smashing 18 home runs, logging 66 RBI, and having a bWAR of 3.5.

The former Gold Glover would be a great fit to add with veteran Martin Maldonaldo, as he can pick Maldy’s brain and take over as the Astros top catcher. The problem would be with the A’s trading away their star player to one of their AL West foes. The asking price is also likely to be high considering the A’s grabbed four prospects each from the Braves and Blue Jays in the Matt Olson and Matt Chapman deals respectively. As the Astros rank 29th in the MLB farm system rankings, it is unlikely they will trade what prospects they have for Murphy. It is also fair to wonder how much better Murphy would make the Astros in the long run.

The Houston Astros are now a part of the Sean Murphy sweepstakes. Considering the state of their farm system, he does not seem to be a fit.