Sean Murphy Traded to Braves from Athletics in 3-Team Deal with Brewers

The Atlanta Braves have acquired catcher Sean Murphy in a three-team trade with the Oakland Athletics that also involves the Milwaukee Brewers.

Here are the full details of the trade, which was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN:

• Braves get: Sean Murphy (C)
• Athletics get: Kyle Muller (LHP), Manny Piña (C), Royber Salinas (RHP), Freddy Tarnok (RHP), Esteury Ruiz (OF)
• Brewers get: William Contreras (C), Joel Payamps (RHP), Justin Yeager (RHP)

Of note, left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller was the Braves' No. 1 prospect on MLB.com.

Murphy finished last season with a .250 batting average, .759 OPS and 18 home runs with 66 RBI. He earned one 10th-place vote for MVP in the American League.

The 28-year-old won a Gold Glove award in 2021.

Murphy has 11 defensive runs saved over the last two years combined, per FanGraphs, and he set a career high with 5.1 wins above replacement last season.

The catcher could post even better numbers after the trade considering his struggles at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. Murphy had a .684 OPS in 162 career home games and an .820 mark in 168 games on the road. His batting average was 45 points higher away from home, and he had 12 more home runs and 10 more doubles.

Playing half his games at Atlanta's Truist Park could lead to a bigger breakout in 2023.

Catchers Travis d'Arnaud and Contreras both earned All-Star selections for Atlanta last season and combined to start 156 of 162 regular-season games behind the plate. Acquiring Murphy gives the Braves a defensive upgrade over Contreras and could allow d'Arnaud to spend more time as a designated hitter.

Considering d'Arnaud has never played more than 112 games in a season and a thumb injury limited him to 60 games in 2021, this move should help keep him fresh for the long season.

After going 101-61 last year, the Braves have the firepower to again contend for a World Series title.

Milwaukee gets a major upgrade over Victor Caratini and Omar Narváez at catcher with the addition of Contreras, who hit 20 home runs with a .278 average last year. It should help provide a jolt to the lineup after the Brewers fell short of the playoffs in 2022.

Oakland continues its rebuild after a 60-102 season, dealing Murphy ahead of his first year of arbitration while adding major league-ready prospects in Muller and Tarnok.