Murphy traded to Atlanta, per report

MLB Rumors: Catcher Sean Murphy has been traded from the Oakland A’s to the Atlanta Braves, per reports.

Murphy, 28, has been rumored to be on the market all offseason. The 28 year old had a .250/.332/.426 slash line in 2022 as Oakland’s primary catcher, putting up a 3.5 bWAR in 612 plate appearances. Murphy has three years of team control remaining, making him particularly attractive.

No word yet on the return, though the A’s ask was reported to be steep.

Oakland and Atlanta came together for a big trade last offseason, with Oakland sending first baseman Matt Olson to the Braves for a package headlined by outfielder Cristian Pache and catcher Shea Langeliers.

The Braves had Travis d’Arnaud as their primary catcher in 2022. d’Arnaud was named to the All Star team in 2022, slashing .268/.319/.472 and putting up a 2.9 bWAR on the year, as well as homering twice in the Braves’ NLDS series against the Philadelphia Phillies. d’Arnaud is under contract for the 2023 season at $8 million, with an $8 million team option for 2024.

UPDATE — This is reportedly a three team deal, with the Milwaukee Brewers also involved.

The Brewers are getting catcher William Contreras from the Braves. Contreras, 24, had a .278/.354/.506 slash line last year, but was a DH almost as often as he caught, and there are questions about his defense behind the plate.

Manny Pina, also a catcher, is going to Oakland from Atlanta. Pina is in the second year of a two year deal that will pay him $4 million for the 2023 season. Pina missed most of 2022 due to wrist surgery.

Pitcher Kyle Muller is going to Oakland from Atlanta. Muller was a second round pick out of Dallas Jesuit by the Braves in 2016, but has struggled to stick in the majors. He spent most of 2022 in AAA as a starter.

Outfielder Esteury Ruiz is going from Milwaukee to Oakland. Ruiz came over to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader trade with San Diego last summer.

Joel Payamps and Justin Yeager are going to Milwaukee, while Freddy Tarnok is going to Oakland. Payamps is a reliever claimed on waivers by the A’s from the Royals in August, 2022. Yeager is a reliever who turns 25 next month and who split 2022 between high-A and AA for the Braves. Tarnok is a 24 year old righthanded pitcher who was a 3rd round pick of the Braves in 2017, and who split 2022 between AA and AAA, while also facing three batters in the majors.

UPDATE — Royber Salinas is also going to Oakland in this deal.

The Brewers appear to my uneducated eye to have done quite well, the Braves pretty well, and the A’s got hosed.