A massive three-team trade went down on Monday as the Atlanta Braves landed Sean Murphy. According to ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan, Atlanta, the Oakland Athletics, and Milwaukee Brewers came together to pull off the big deal on Monday.
BREAKING: Catcher Sean Murphy has been traded to the Atlanta Braves, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 12, 2022
Murphy enjoyed a strong season in 2022, slashing .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI in 148 games, finishing as a finalist for the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. However, Oakland likely views the 28-year-old as expendable given the club’s depth at the position, including top prospect Shea Langeliers, who made his big league debut last season.
Coming back to Oakland from Atlanta is left-handed starting pitcher Kyle Muller. Muller spent most of last season in the minors but will likely get plenty of opportunity with the A’s. Oakland also landed outfielder Esteury Ruiz from the Brewers. Ruiz is a good prospect and burner with plenty of speed who should steal plenty of bases in Northern California.
Milwaukee picked up catcher William Contreras. Contreras is coming off a great season that earned him an All-Star nod. The 24-year-old hit .278/.354/.506 with 20 home runs and two steals in 376 plate appearances.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Braves with the fifth-shortest World Series odds at +950, while Milwaukee sits at +4100, and the A’s are a colossal longshot at +30000.
