Who would have thought we’d be here with the Atlanta Braves. Before the season, almost everyone would have assumed that all of the questions surrounding them would have been in relation to their desire to add at the trade deadline, not subtract. Yet here we are.
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden put out an article (subscription required) breaking down what moves select teams could make at the trade deadline, where he gave an interesting answer in regard to the Braves and their future with one superstar.
MLB insider thinks the Braves should strongly consider trading Sean Murphy
As a part of the article, a reader asked Bowden if he thinks the Braves will deal Chris Sale at the deadline, to which Bowden responded:
“I think the Braves just need to get their starting pitching healthy for next year and only require a slight reboot at the deadline rather than a transformation. Trading catcher Sean Murphy to open the door full-time for Drake Baldwin makes sense to me, as does dealing soon-to-be free agent Marcell Ozuna. The Braves are going to need Sale next year, so I wouldn’t trade him. Of course, the Braves would have to at least listen to offers — in case someone wants to overpay.”
The information about Ozuna shouldn’t come as a surprise since he’s on an expiring deal and hasn’t been as good as he’s been in years prior. While that lack of success (he entered Wednesday with a .238 batting average and 11 home runs) may lead to his return being diminished, it’s the kind of savvy move the Braves should make in a lost season.
Bowden’s remark about Murphy is a bit surprising, however. While Baldwin has been great for the Braves this year, Murphy’s in the third year of his cheap six-year contract extension and is in the midst of a strong season (.225/.309/.478 with 13 HR and 48 RBI).
But, if the Braves feel that Baldwin truly is the catcher of the future, then they may elect to cut ties with Murphy in the hopes of getting a strong prospect return. Atlanta gave up a total of six players to get Murphy including William Contreras (who was coming off an All-Star season) and then-top prospect Kyle Muller.
While the Braves may not be able to get that big of a return for Murphy, they’d likely be able to get their choice of top prospects and/or MLB-ready players.
Murphy’s 116 wRC+ is sixth-best among catchers with at least 200 at-bats, and he’s in the 75th percentile in framing and the 85th percentile in blocks above average. He’s still a solid catcher who can help a team win, but the Braves may have stumbled upon a better and cheaper player in Baldwin, which could make Murphy redundant on the roster.
A lot of things have gone wrong for the Braves this year, but they have a chance to rip the band-aid off and build the team toward success in the future. At this point, it’s a move they need to make.