In 2025, many Major League Baseball teams wish they had one good-hitting catcher on their roster. The Atlanta Braves have two.
Sean Murphy has done nothing wrong. The 2023 All-Star has rebounded from a rough 2024 campaign to post a 118 OPS+ in 41 games. But he's in a near-equal timeshare with rookie Drake Baldwin, a lefty hitter who's put up a 131 OPS+ of his own.
Because Marcell Ozuna is entrenched as the designated hitter, one of these two has to be on the bench at the start of every game. Both deserve to be getting more at-bats, but it's not easy to fathom trading either one.
However, Murphy, who is six years older, clearly would be the one on the trade block. Sure, his three years and $45 million after this season might be a lot for some teams to swallow, but he's worth that money if he can stay healthy.
On Friday, insider David O'Brien of The Athletic named a Murphy trade as one of a few possible scenarios for the Braves at the Jul. 31 deadline.
"Though it’s unlikely the Braves will become sellers barring a continued slide further behind the wild-card leaders, trading veteran catcher Murphy could be a possibility," O'Brien wrote.
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"The Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants are contenders getting woeful offense from catchers who could use Murphy, who has the intellect and personality that teams know he could step in at midseason and immediately gain the confidence of pitchers."
Most teams' decisions at the deadline are solely focused on whether or not they're trying to win now. But the disappointing Braves could feasibly do a trade like this whether they've gotten themselves back in the wild card hunt or fallen further out of the race.
Add Murphy to the list of names to watch at an already-intriguing deadline.
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