SAN DIEGO — It seems that the St. Louis Cardinals turned down a hefty price tag in their discussions about a trade for Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy.
St. Louis Cardinals rumors: This was the trade request from the Oakland A’s for Sean Murphy
According to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oakland was indeed looking for a price that was previously reported as simply “too expensive.” Goold reported that the A’s demanded “outfielder Lars Nootbaar, Gold Glove-winner Brendan Donovan, and a power young pitcher like Gordon Graceffo,” a tall order in return for Murphy and the three years of team control that come with him.
Graceffo is currently the third-ranked prospect for St. Louis, so Oakland asking for him and two current starters helped the Cardinals make their decision to pivot to Willson Contreras, the former Cubs catcher who was a free agent. St. Louis and Contreras reached a deal on a five-year deal that cements him as the backstop of the near future in the Gateway City.
Knowing the price that the A’s were asking for the 28-year-old Murphy also helps to understand what other teams that are linked to trade talks with Oakland about him (including the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians) may be asked to give up to land him.
Will any team pay the price Oakland is asking? If not, the A’s have made it clear that they are comfortable starting the season with Murphy on their roster. However, that gamble certainly carries a risk as Murphy could suffer an injury or start the season struggling at the plate. Teams will certainly use anything like that as leverage to try to get Oakland to lower the price for Murphy, who is the last remaining member of the team who is viewed with such high value as a trade chip.
St. Louis turned down a big ask from Oakland for Sean Murphy. Will other teams this offseason?