Fans love to hate MLB player contracts. It is a tale as old as time. Fans gloss over the reasonable deals and even the particularly team-friendly contracts generally get a thumbs up and everyone moves on with their lives. However, the instant a player slumps or gets hurt, attention for some immediately turns to how much money they are making and trying to engineer ways to get them off the team. For Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy, this has actually happened a couple of times.
Shortly after the Braves traded for Murphy, fans thought Atlanta got a bargain. Even when you take into account Murphy's extension, he got off to a scorching start to his time in Atlanta that had him being called a bargain by many and even a potential MVP candidate by some. Unfortunately, Murphy faded badly in the second half and has been incredibly streaky and/or hurt ever since.
All of that leads us back to Murphy's contract and specifically the at least $45 million left over three years on his deal. With Drake Baldwin's emergence at catcher, paying Murphy that much does not feel great and Bleacher Report actually thinks he is the most overpaid catcher in baseball right now.
Bleacher Report thinks that Sean Murphy is the most overpaid catcher in baseball, but that could change soon
B/R's rationale is honestly pretty reasonable. Between all the time that Murphy has missed first with a hamstring injury, then a broken rib, and now a labral tear in his hip as well as his inconsistency at the play, Murphy certainly hasn't played like the highest paid catcher in baseball. If Baldwin ends up getting the vast majority of starts at catcher going forward and Murphy can't move the needle at DH, his contract is an easy choice here going forward.
However, that doesn't mean that he and the Braves are doomed. Murphy is finally getting a long-term injury fixed that impacted him for years and he won't have the same wear-and-tear each season thanks to Baldwin being around. Whether or not the Braves trade Murphy, it feels likely that 2026 could be a season where Murphy finally shows all that he is capable of.
Assuming Murphy does play well this year, that would turn this gaze northward to the deal that the Phillies just gave JT Realmuto for the (mostly) same AAV that Murphy got. Realmuto seems to be healthy and is still a highly regarded defender, but he is also about to turn 35 and signed a three year deal. If you want a heavy favorite for the next worst catcher contract that could take the top slot from Murphy, Realmuto feels like a strong bet.