MLB trade: Brewers, Braves win Sean Murphy deal with Oakland

The Oakland A’s had one big MLB trade chip left on their roster, and getting a solid deal back in return for him was paramount to the team’s future success. On the surface, the A’s failed in their mission to do that on Monday when they sent catcher Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves in a three-team deal.

MLB trade sends Sean Murphy from Oakland A’s to Atlanta Braves

Here’s the full detail of the three-team MLB trade that occurred on Monday, including the Braves and Milwaukee Brewers improving their positions behind the plate.

The biggest parts of the trade, of course, are Murphy and his three additional seasons of team control heading from Oakland to Atlanta, with the Braves slicing off some of their catching depth by sending William Contreras to Milwaukee and Manny Piña to Oakland. In a musical game of catchers, it appears that Pina, who had just 14 at-bats with Atlanta last season in his ninth MLB season, is the weakest link of the group. He is also in the second year of a two-year, $8 million deal that the A’s will absorb.

This is the second A’s-Braves trade over the past year that has benefitted Atlanta greatly, with the Braves bringing over first baseman Matt Olson last March. Olson finished 2022 with 34 home runs (second on the team) and 103 RBI (leading the Braves in that category).

Milwaukee, meanwhile, sent just one player (Esteury Ruiz) away in the deal while getting Contreras and a pair of pitching prospects. Acquired in the deal that sent Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres last season, Ruiz netted just eight at-bats in three games with the Braves after coming on board.

Oakland will likely hinge the success or failure of the trade on Piña as well as Muller, a very high prospects in Atlanta’s farm system in recent years.

Jeff Passan also brings up an interesting note about Salinas, who is heading to Oakland.

Atlanta and Milwaukee will benefit now from the trade centered around Sean Murphy, while Oakland can only hope that the prospects pay off down the line.