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Athletics Moving Closer To Sean Murphy Trade; Braves Not The Acquiring Team

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5:47PM: The Braves aren’t going to be the team that lands Murphy, Feinsand tweets in a new update, though the A’s do still look like they’re nearing a deal.  Anthopoulos told Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links) and other reporters that the Braves are planning to go into the spring with Contreras, d’Arnaud and Pina behind the plate.  Offers could be considered out of due diligence, but Anthopoulos said “I do not anticipate a trade, so just to shut that down.”

5:03PM: After months of trade speculation, Sean Murphy may on the verge leaving Oakland, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link) reports that “the Athletics appear to be getting close to” moving the catcher.  While multiple teams are in the running, the Braves are somewhat surprisingly “considered the frontrunners” to pry Murphy away from the A’s.

This isn’t the first time Atlanta has been linked to Murphy, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported about the Braves’ interest just two days ago.  However, that interest was characterized mostly as a case of due diligence, and how Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is open to exploring all trade possibilities, even if his team is seemingly set at a position.

Even with William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, and Manny Pina all on the catching depth chart, it makes sense why Atlanta could view Murphy as a preferable option to its in-house choices.  Murphy is both a quality hitter (.236/.326/.429 slash line over his career, 116 wRC+) and a quality defender (excellent framing numbers and a Gold Glove in 2021), plus he is still arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season.  Projected for a modest $3.5MM salary in 2023, Murphy’s team control is naturally attractive to any club, and perhaps particularly so for a Braves team that has started to approach the luxury tax threshold for the first time since 1998.

Due mostly to several contract extensions for incumbent players, Atlanta is projected for a luxury tax number just shy of $228MM in 2023, and thus not far below the $233MM tax threshold.  To be clear, the threshold isn’t a barrier, as the team is already considering exceeding the tax line to help further reinforce a contending roster.  With new ballpark revenue streaming in and one World Series title in 2021 already claimed, it makes sense that the Braves would be willing to keep spending at franchise-record amounts to keep the good times rolling.  That means Atlanta could consider moves like acquiring Murphy and also possibly re-signing free agent shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Adding Murphy would also naturally create a surplus behind the plate, even with Contreras perhaps getting the bulk of his time at the DH spot.  d’Arnaud is owed $8MM in 2023 with an $8MM club option for 2024, while Pina is owed $4.5MM next season with a $4MM club option for 2024.  Pina already seemed like something of a trade candidate even before the Murphy rumors began swirling, but the injury-prone d’Arnaud could also potentially be shopped.  Moving Contreras would be the biggest of the possible moves, as between his hitting potential and team control through the 2027 season, the Braves could land a nice return in any Contreras trade.

If the A’s did trade Murphy to Atlanta, it would mark the third time that the Billy Beane/David Forst front office (now with Forst in charge of baseball operations) has swung a blockbuster trade with Anthopoulos.  It was less than a year ago that Matt Olson was acquired by the Braves as Freddie Freeman’s replacement, with Oakland receiving Cristian Pache, Shea Langeliers and right-handers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes in return.  Back when Anthopoulos was the Blue Jays’ general manager, he and the A’s combined on the major deal that brought Josh Donaldson to Toronto in December 2014, with Oakland getting another four-player package back.

This familiarity between the front offices and the Athletics’ familiarity with the Braves’ farm system are certainly reasons why Atlanta may be outpacing other teams for the heavily sought-after Murphy.  The White Sox, Guardians, Rays, Cardinals, and Red Sox are just some of the teams known to have asked about the All-Star, and it’s probably safe to say that any team with a vacancy behind the plate has been in contact with the A’s.  In fact, Murphy’s overall value is high enough that probably even some seemingly unlikely suitors like the Braves have also been checking in about his services.

Cardinals, Braves Among Teams That Have Spoken To A’s About Sean Murphy

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A’s catcher Sean Murphy stands as one of the likeliest trade candidates of the offseason, and Oakland is unsurprisingly receiving a fairly wide array of interest in the former Gold Glover. The Cardinals have spoken to the A’s about Murphy, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. They’ve also spoken to the Blue Jays about their catching surplus (Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno), per the report.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that even the Braves — a team ostensibly set behind the plate — have checked in with the A’s about the potential asking price. Murphy has also been linked to the Guardians, White Sox, Rays and Red Sox since the offseason began, and there are assuredly others reaching out to the A’s to throw their hat into the mix.

The Cardinals stand as arguably the most obvious on-paper suitor for Murphy. Franchise icon Yadier Molina has formally retired after a 19-year career, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been candid about his team’s interest in acquiring a new starting catcher. Backup Andrew Knizner is a .204/.292/.288 hitter in parts of four seasons and thus not likely to step into the starter’s role, and while the Cardinals have a promising young prospect in Ivan Herrera, they’re also a win-now club looking to make the most of the remaining prime years of MVP Paul Goldschmidt and third-place finisher Nolan Arenado.

Much of the same logic would apply to a Cardinals pursuit of a Toronto backstop. Jansen is the most heavily speculated target of the bunch, given that he’s “only” controllable for another two seasons, compared to four for Kirk and six for Moreno, but any catching-hungry team would have varying levels of interest in the whole trio. Goold notes that the Jays have been looking for a young, left-handed-hitting outfielder, which the Cards do possess in Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson. To this point, there’s no indication that talks with either Oakland or Toronto have meaningfully advanced.

Turning to the Braves and Murphy, it’s not as clean a fit, nor is it a surprise to see Rosenthal characterize the chances of an actual deal manifesting as “slim.” That said, it’s easy enough to see how Murphy, who’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $3.5MM in his first arbitration season and is controlled through 2025, would still appeal to Atlanta.

William Contreras’ breakout season at the plate (.278/.354/.506, 20 homers in 376 plate appearances) clearly put him on the map as a potential long-term option, but Contreras’ defensive contributions were far more suspect. He posted negative framing marks according to each of Statcast, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus, and his 14% caught-stealing rate was among the worst in the league. In 955 big league innings behind the plate, Contreras has posted a rather unsightly -11 Defensive Runs Saved.

That’s not to say Atlanta should or would (in the event of a long-shot Murphy acquisition) move on from Contreras, of course. He has more than enough bat to spend considerable time at designated hitter, and the Braves have experimented with getting him some work in the outfield corners. Speculatively speaking, there’d be room to carry Contreras, Murphy and a third catcher, allowing Murphy to take the bulk of the work and Contreras to rotate between DH, catcher and perhaps some corner outfield work.

The Braves have both Travis d’Arnaud and Manny Pina signed through the 2023 season, and they hold a 2024 option on d’Arnaud. Pina played in just five games after signing a two-year, $8MM contract, however, as a wrist injury required season-ending surgery early in the year. Rosenthal suggests that the Braves have gotten some trade interest in Pina this offseason, despite that injury. The 35-year-old has long been a light hitter, but his glovework is well regarded. A team looking for a glove-first backup could certainly consider Pina an intriguing option.

A trade of Murphy to Atlanta feels like far more of a long shot than a conventional fit like the ones in St. Louis, Cleveland, Tampa Bay or Boston, but the mere fact that the Braves are even pondering the possibility underscores the manner in which Murphy is regarded throughout the league. The 28-year-old hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs last season despite playing his home games at the Athletics’ cavernous home park. He slashed .271/.343/.465 on the road. After a so-so start to his 2022 season, Murphy mashed at a .278/.363/.458 slash in his final 409 plate appearances.

By measure of wRC+, Murphy was 22% better than a league-average hitter. Catchers, however, are notoriously below-average hitters on the whole, making Murphy’s contributions all the more impressive. In 2022, the average catcher was 12% worse than the league-average hitter; the gap between Murphy’s bat and that of a garden-variety catcher is enormous.

Adding to the offensive side of his game, Murphy is regarded as a strong defensive backstop. He won a Gold Glove in 2021, has been a plus framer by any publicly available metric, and has nabbed 28% of potential base thieves in his career (including 31% in 2022). That skill set, combined with an affordable 2023 salary and three more seasons of club control, should make him appealing to all but a select few teams with stars entrenched behind the plate. The A’s, squarely in the midst of a rebuild and with prospect Shea Langeliers perhaps ready for a full audition in the Majors, will likely be able command a sizable return for Murphy in the coming weeks or months.

Guardians Showing Continued Interest In Sean Murphy

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The Guardians are among the teams in discussions with the A’s about Sean Murphy, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on Twitter). The backstop is one of the more frequent trade targets of the offseason, and Morosi suggests Oakland could complete a deal by the end of the Winter Meetings next week.

Murphy is of interest to virtually every team seeking catching help. He has been a quality hitter throughout his three-plus seasons in the big leagues, showing solid power and plate discipline with roughly average bat-to-ball skills. Murphy tallied a career-high 612 plate appearances this past season, hitting .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and a personal-low 20.3% strikeout rate.

While that may not be an eye-popping slash line at first glance, it marked well above-average production once one accounts for the depressed offensive environment around the game and Oakland’s pitcher-friendly home ballpark. By measure of wRC+, Murphy was 22 percentage points better than the average batter. Those numbers look even better when comparing Murphy to his peers behind the plate. Catchers overall mustered a putrid .228/.295/.368 line in 2022. Murphy ranked seventh at the position (among those with 300+ plate appearances) in on-base percentage and finished tenth in slugging.

In addition to that quality performance at the dish, the Wright State product is regarded as an excellent defensive backstop. Statcast consistently pegs him as an above-average pitch framer. The possibility for an electronic strike zone in 2024 or beyond could take pitch framing out of the sport, but Murphy also possesses an elite arm. He cut down 31.1% of attempted basestealers, well above the 25% league mark. Statcast credited him with a 1.89 second pop time (average time to throw to second base), the fourth-best mark among 72 catchers with 10+ throws. He was only charged with two passed balls despite playing more than 1000 innings behind the dish, a workload that trailed only that of J.T. Realmuto.

Murphy’s well-rounded game makes him one of the sport’s better catchers, and his trade appeal is only enhanced by his affordability. He’s eligible for arbitration for three more seasons, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.5MM salary in 2023. The 28-year-old will earn successive boosts over the next couple years, but his arbitration salaries will remain well below his open market value if he continues to perform at his recent level.

That window of affordable control means the A’s aren’t under urgent contractual or financial pressure to move him. However, Oakland also looks at least a year away from being able to contend for a Wild Card spot. The A’s tore down their roster over the 2021-22 offseason to cut costs, and they finished 2022 with an AL-worst 60-102 record. Murphy’s trade value will only dwindle alongside his remaining window of club control, and the A’s could seize the opportunity to move him for a massive return in the coming weeks or months.

Doing so would allow the A’s to give a full season of catching reps to top prospect Shea Langeliers. Acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade last spring, Langeliers hit .283/.366/.510 through 92 games with Triple-A Las Vegas. He showed some power but also concerning strikeout and walk numbers in his first big league look late in the season. The former top ten draftee is regarded as a possible plus defender in his own right, and while the A’s could theoretically have Murphy and Lanegliers split catching and designated hitter duties, doing so would negate the defensive value of one of those players each game.

Cleveland places a premium on catcher defense, having turned primarily to Austin Hedges over the past few seasons. Hedges rivals Murphy defensively but offers virtually nothing with the bat. He’s coming off a .163/.241/.248 line and hit free agency at the end of the season. Cleveland could certainly look to bring him back, but acquiring Murphy would keep the club’s excellent defense intact while adding a possible middle-of-the-order bat. Murphy has even platoon numbers over the course of his career, but his right-handed bat would be an ancillary bonus for a Cleveland lineup that skews left-handed. The Guardians had a .646 OPS against southpaws this past season, a mark that topped only those of the Marlins and A’s.

As things currently stand, the only catchers on Cleveland’s 40-man roster are Bo Naylor and Bryan Lavastida. Each player made his MLB debut in 2022 and they have a combined 11 games of big league experience. Lavastida had a rough offensive showing in the upper minors and could fit better as a depth option.

Naylor, who turns 23 in February, is a more highly-regarded prospect who’s coming off a .257/.366/.514 line in 66 games at Triple-A Columbus. He could be a regular, but prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his defense. At the very least, adding a veteran complement to that duo will be on the to-do list for president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and his staff. The Guardians could look to experiment with Naylor at other positions if they pull off a Murphy trade, and there’s also the possibility Cleveland includes him as part of the package they’re dangling to the A’s.

Rays Interested In Sean Murphy

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The Rays are one of a number of teams showing trade interest in Oakland catcher Sean Murphy, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The line of suitors for Murphy is expected to be long, and already includes the Red Sox and White Sox, while a host of other teams including the Cardinals, Astros and Yankees could feasibly be interested. It’s also worth noting that the Guardians discussed a Murphy deal in the summer, while Dennis Lin of The Athletic adds that the Padres also pursued Murphy during the season, and both of those teams could conceivably circle back to restart those trade discussions.

Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez headline a thin free agent catching class, so Murphy represents an attractive alternative on the trade market for catcher-hungry teams this winter. The 28-year-old is under club control for three more seasons, and Matt Swartz of MLBTR pegged him for a $3.5MM salary in arbitration. While the prospect haul to acquire him will be significant, that salary is an incredibly affordable rate for a player who was worth 5.1 fWAR last season, and has firmly established himself as one of the best catchers in the game.

The Rays tendered contracts to Christian Bethancourt ($1.6MM projection) and Francisco Mejia ($2.2MM) so they do have catching options on the roster, but neither are clear starters. Bethancourt came over to the Rays from Oakland last summer and posted a 1.9 fWAR season with a 101 wRC+ in his first big league campaign since 2017. Mejia saw his BB and K rate go in the wrong directions on the way to a .242/.264/.381 line in 93 games.

Murphy would be a clear upgrade on either. He hit 18 home runs on a .250/.332/.426 line in 2022, good for a 122 wRC+ or 22% above league average. He also cut back on his strikeouts, shaving off five percent from his career mark which tended to hover around 25%. Behind the plate Murphy ranked sixth in baseball for Statcast’s Catcher Framing Runs, and threw out roughly a third of runners attempting stolen bases on him. He also won a Gold Glove in 2021.

Tampa Bay’s farm system ranked 12th in the game by Baseball America during the middle of the 2022 season, and featured five of the top-100 prospects in the game – Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Curtis Mead, Jonathan Aranda and Carson Williams, so there’s certainly the young talent there to get a deal done.

It’s not clear how the Rays’ catching depth chart would shape up were a Murphy trade to materialize. They could look to sell high on Bethancourt on the back of his strong 2022 campaign and operate a Murphy-Mejia tandem behind the plate. Given Murphy has caught 119 and 116 games the past two years, it seems unlikely they’d carry three catchers. Of course, after trading Ji-Man Choi to Pittsburgh, they could opt to utilize Mejia as a bench bat/first-base option, although they’d certainly be looking to see a bounce back from him offensively in that scenario.

Mozeliak: Cardinals Seeking Catching Help, Left-Handed Bat

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The Cardinals bid farewell to a pair of franchise icons at season’s end, as Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina officially closed the books on their playing career. For the first time in nearly two decades, St. Louis enters an offseason unsure of who’ll receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish the following season. While the Cardinals have in-house options in Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera, president of baseball operations made clear in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this week that he’s actively exploring the market for catching upgrades.

“Clearly, with Yadi retiring, we know we need to upgrade at catching — especially when you think about the day-to-day demands of that role,” said Mozeliak. “That’s something that we’re going to look at, whether it’s trade or free agency.”

Asked about interest in top catcher Willson Contreras, Mozeliak declined to publicly comment on the free agent’s potential market, calling that a “dangerous game” and instead simply doubled down on interest in catching help: “We are in the catching market.”

Contreras, a longtime division rival, is this year’s top free-agent catcher, with former Red Sox and Astros backstop Christian Vazquez the clear No. 2 option. They’re not the only names available, of course, but they’re the two clear-cut starting catchers coming off strong 2022 campaigns. Rebound candidates include Omar Narvaez, Mike Zunino and Tucker Barnhart, all of whom had down 2022 seasons but were quite recently considered quality starting options behind the dish.

As Mozeliak alluded to, the trade market should produce a handful of alternatives. Oakland’s Sean Murphy will be available, though the asking price for three years of his services will be understandably steep. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have a trio of starting-caliber catchers on the roster in Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and top prospect Gabriel Moreno. Jansen, with two years of remaining club control to Kirk’s five and Moreno’s six, is generally seen as the likeliest of the group to move.

Whatever path the Cards take, an addition at catcher feels like a foregone conclusion. Knizner, 27, has served as the primary backup to Molina in recent seasons and managed only a .204/.292/.288 slash through 536 big league plate appearances. Optimists might suggest that he’d improve with more consistent playing time than he received Molina and his iron-man approach to catching, but Knizner has also drawn sub-par defensive marks along the way. The 22-year-old Herrera went 2-for-18 in his MLB debut this year but turned in a solid .268/.374/.396 line in Triple-A. Still, a team hoping to vie for a return to the postseason could use more certainty behind the dish, perhaps easing the well-regarded Herrera into a larger opportunity — as opposed to simply throwing him into a trial-by-fire run at the starting job.

Catching help isn’t all that’s on the menu this winter for Mozeliak, GM Mike Girsch and the rest of the front office, though. Mozeliak didn’t specify a position but did voice hope of adding a left-handed bat to help balance out his lineup. Given that most of the available catching options are right-handed bats — Narvaez and the switch-hitting Barnhart being the exceptions — it’s likely the Cards will have to make an additional move to achieve that goal.

“When you look at our offense, trying to find something from the left side to try to help bolster our day-to-day lineup is something we think we could benefit from,” said Mozeliak. “…”When you think about our club from the left side, we could just use a little extra pop. Some of our better hitters are right-handed, and so we’re just looking for more balance in our lineup.

The Cards aren’t totally devoid of left-handed bats but do skew more toward the right side of the dish — particularly when it comes to the team’s power hitters. Lars Nootbaar showed some impressive power from the left side of the dish and likely secured himself a spot in the 2023 outfield, but he’s the main source of left-handed pop the Cardinals have at the moment. Rookie of the Year finalist Brendan Donovan had an outstanding all-around season but hit just five homers and posted a lowly .097 ISO (slugging minus batting average). Switch-hitters Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson were both vastly better hitters from the right side of the plate than the left. Twenty-two-year-old Nolan Gorman certainly has power from the left side of the plate but struggled increasingly as his rookie season wore on.

Last offseason’s signing of Corey Dickerson seemed intended to provide some help in this space, and while Dickerson rebounded from an awful start to finish with a roughly league-average batting line, he’s again a free agent and the Cardinals are surely hoping for more than average output from whoever is acquired to fill this role. The free-agent market isn’t exactly teeming with productive left-handed hitters who could be plugged into the St. Louis lineup, though veterans like Michael Brantley, Michael Conforto and old friend Matt Carpenter are all available. The former two will both be returning from shoulder surgery, whereas the latter enjoyed an otherworldly rebound with the Yankees before suffering a fractured foot that derailed his comeback effort.

As is so often heard from baseball operations leaders, Mozeliak also touched on the adage that a team can never have too much pitching, noting that “you’re always just one injury away from being in a tough spot.” While he didn’t characterize the Cardinals’ search for rotation depth as quite the same level of priority as a catcher and left-handed bat, Mozeliak suggested that the Cardinals will “keep the pulse” of the starting pitching market as the offseason progresses.

With Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz, Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, the Cardinals have at least six rotation options — Mozeliak also listed Drew VerHagen as a potential depth option there — but bolstering that group with a swingman or some veterans on minor league deals could well be on the eventual to-do list.

Red Sox Rumors: Reynolds, Senga, Murphy, Diamondbacks

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The Red Sox are the latest club to show interest in Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes.  Reynolds is one of a few names on the trade radar for the Sox early in the offseason, as Speier reports that the Red Sox have looked into the Diamondbacks’ group of left-handed hitting outfielders, and Boston is also expected to again check in with the Athletics about catcher Sean Murphy.

Public defensive metrics were down (-3.2 UZR/150, -7 Outs Above Average, -14 Defensive Runs Saved) on Reynolds’ work in center field in 2022, yet with Enrique Hernandez perhaps lined up anyway as Boston’s top center field choice, the Sox could have an eye on moving Reynolds into a corner outfield spot at Fenway.  His bat should play anywhere, as Reynolds hit .262/.345/.461 with 27 homers over 614 plate appearances with the Pirates last season.  With the exception of the shortened 2020 season, Reynolds has been a decidedly above-average bat in his four years in the majors, even if his center field defense has been more of a mixed bag.

Adding Reynolds would be an ideal solution for a Red Sox team looking for more power in general, and with a specific need in the outfield.  Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, and journeyman Rob Refsnyder line up as the current starting outfield, with unproven prospect Jarren Duran and a few utility options as depth.  If Reynolds was obtained for a corner outfield spot, Refsnyder would likely be pushed to a bench spot; if Reynolds still played center field, the versatile Hernandez might be see more work at second base.  Since Verdugo has also been floated as a potential trade candidate, however, a bigger outfield shake-up could be a possibility.

Corbin Carroll, Daulton Varsho, Alek Thomas, and Jake McCarthy are all left-handed bats primed for regular duty in Arizona, creating a bit of a surplus the D’Backs could use to fill other roster needs.  Thomas and McCarthy are seen as the likeliest to be moved, though it isn’t known which names the Sox might have directly asked about.  None of the quartet are as established as Reynolds, yet all have shown intriguing potential either as prospects or early in their Major League careers.

D’Backs general manager Mike Hazen has stated that his team would want MLB-ready talent for any of the outfielders, yet the asking price for an Arizona outfielder wouldn’t be as cumbersome as the Pirates’ demands for Reynolds, which are known to be enormous.  It would only take one big offer to perhaps change the mind of Pirates GM Ben Cherington (who formerly ran Boston’s front office), and yet roughly half the teams in baseball have been linked to Reynolds over the last year-plus, with no movement on the trade front.  By this point, several pundits have opined that Reynolds won’t be dealt, as the Pirates hope to return to contention before Reynolds hits free agency following the 2025 season.

Murphy is in something of a similar situation, as he is also arb-controlled through the 2025 campaign.  While the A’s are in an earlier point in their latest rebuild and catching prospect Shea Langeliers is waiting in the wings, Oakland is under no direct pressure to move Murphy for anything less than a major trade package.  Speier cites Brayan Bello as the type of top-tier, MLB-ready younger player the Athletics want as the headliner in a Murphy trade, though it isn’t clear if the A’s wanted Bello specifically in any earlier talks between the Red Sox and A’s prior to the trade deadline.  If this was the case, that deal might be a no-go, as Speier writes that “Bello borders on untradeable” from Boston’s perspective.

Speaking of untouchable players, the Red Sox also inquired about Zac Gallen, but the Diamondbacks have told clubs that Gallen isn’t available.  Pitching is another need on Boston’s winter shopping list, and Speier figures the Sox to be among the many suitors for Kodai Senga since they “were among many teams to scout him heavily” in Japan.  The Mariners, Rangers, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, and Angels have already been linked to Senga’s market, with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeting earlier today about the Angels’ interest.  Senga is free of his NPB commitments, so an interested Major League team can negotiate with him like any free agent, without the obstacle of the posting system.

White Sox Interested In Sean Murphy

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After a disappointing 81-81 campaign, the White Sox enter the off-season with some clear needs to tend to if they’re to bounce back into contention with their current core of players. Among them, the catcher position, and Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports the team has inquired about the A’s Sean Murphy.

While an inquiry into a player’s availability falls well short of any meaningful momentum towards a deal, it is interesting to consider given the White Sox have the under performing Yasmani Grandal under contract for 2023 at the steep rate of $18.25MM, while Murphy is projected to make $3.5MM in his first season going through arbitration, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Murphy, 28, was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft by Oakland. While his defensive prowess behind the plate was his big calling, his bat developed to the point where he quickly became one of the A’s top prospects. Since making his debut in 2019, he’s blossomed into one of the best catchers around and 2022 was his best season yet, as Murphy hit 18 home runs, slashed .250/.332/.426 and appeared in 148 games (116 at catcher). He cut back on his strikeouts this year, dropping them from around 25% for much of his career to 20.3% in 2022.

Defensively, Murphy receives strong marks for framing and ranked sixth in all of baseball on Statcast’s Catcher Framing Runs. He also ranked fifth in Pop Time – that is, the amount of time it takes the catcher to receive a pitch and get it to the base he’s throwing it to – and that resulted in him throwing out 19 of 61 potential baserunners.

As mentioned, Murphy is going through arbitration for the first time in 2022 and is expected to make a moderate $3.5MM salary. He won’t be a free agent until after the 2025 campaign, so any team acquiring him would have him for three years. All told, the price for Murphy would be steep and given the free agent catching market is thin outside of Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez, the A’s will surely be looking for a big trade haul if they are to move him.

The White Sox could certainly do with Murphy, given Grandal’s struggles this season. The recently-turned 34-year-old hit just .202/.301/.269 across 99 games, with an alarming drop in power the biggest cause for concern. Grandal never hit much for average, but was always an OBP machine who could slug 20-plus homers each year. He hit just five long balls this past season, and saw his HardHit rate drop almost 14% from a year ago.

There’s already been reports that Chicago’s payroll is expected to drop and the team would be more focused on trades than the free agent market. With that in mind, the team could look to shift Grandal and bring in Murphy, freeing up just under $15MM or so of salary. While Grandal had a poor season and has a hefty salary, there is only one year remaining so it’s not unreasonable to think that a team could be interested in acquiring him if the White Sox are willing to kick in a bit of cash or throw in an intriguing prospect too. That’s purely speculation though, and there’s no indication that the team is shopping Grandal.

A’s Promote Shea Langeliers, Release Stephen Piscotty

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The A’s announced they’ve selected the contract of top catching prospect Shea Langeliers. The club also recalled David MacKinnon from Triple-A Las Vegas. In corresponding moves, Oakland placed Ramón Laureano on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 15, with a left oblique strain, and released outfielder Stephen Piscotty.

It’s a notable shakeup for the A’s, who’ll get their first look at a player they hope to be a key piece of the future. Langeliers was one of four players Oakland received from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade this spring. Arguably the headliner of the deal, the righty-hitting backstop is regarded by most prospect evaluators as a potential above-average regular behind the dish.

The ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Langeliers has spent the past three years progressing up the minor league ladder. He got off to a somewhat slow start late in his first pro season — not too surprising for a catcher logging the most action in any year of his career. The following minor league season was wiped out by the pandemic, and Atlanta pushed the Baylor product to Double-A to start 2021. Langeliers spent virtually the entire year there, putting up an impressive .258/.338/.498 line with 22 home runs in 92 games in a pitcher-friendly environment.

That would’ve been quality power production for any player, but it’s particularly impressive for a highly-regarded defensive catcher. Langeliers fits that bill. Most evaluators peg him as at least an average receiver, and he draws unanimous praise for his arm strength. Each of FanGraphs, Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN placed him among the back half of their top 100 overall prospects heading into the 2022 season, and the A’s acquired him as part of their Spring Training teardown.

Langeliers has continued to impress in his new organization. He’s spent the year in Triple-A, his first extended stretch there after a brief cameo late last season. Over 402 plate appearances, the 24-year-old has hit 19 homers and posted a solid 10.7% walk percentage against a manageable 21.9% strikeout rate. Las Vegas is one of the more favorable environments in the affiliated ranks for hitters, but Langeliers’ .283/.366/.510 line is a strong showing even in that context. With nearly 200 upper minors games under his belt over the past two seasons, he had little left to prove before earning an MLB look.

The A’s would have had to add Langeliers to the 40-man roster this offseason to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. General manager David Forst indicated last week they were hoping to get him a look earlier than that, and he’ll presumably spend the final seven weeks of the season on the active roster. The club has been playing out the string in a brutal season, but Langeliers’ promotion will give the fanbase and organization a glimpse at a potential core piece for 2023 and beyond. BA recently named him the game’s #81 farmhand, while McDaniel pegs him as the second-best prospect in the organization.

First-year manager Mark Kotsay will be tasked with divvying up playing time between the rookie and incumbent backstop Sean Murphy. Oakland’s primary catcher is arguably the team’s best player. An elite defender with an above-average .244/.323/.422 showing at the dish, Murphy is one of the best catchers in the game. He’ll certainly remain in the lineup on most days, although Langeliers’ promotion could afford Murphy some additional quasi-rest work at first base or as a designated hitter. Langeliers himself figures to see some action at those spots as well.

That’ll at least be the temporary arrangement, but a solid showing from Langeliers during his first look at big league pitching would only ramp up speculation about Murphy’s long-term future. With Murphy controllable through 2025, the A’s certainly don’t have to deal him away next offseason. He’ll only be going through arbitration for the first time in the winter, and next year’s salary (while a notable raise over his pre-arb payouts) won’t be onerous — even for an Oakland club that’s likely to run one of the league’s lowest payrolls. Yet a significant portion of the value of each of Murphy and Langeliers lies in their defensive acumen behind the plate. That’s nowhere near as valuable at first base or DH, of course, so one could argue for the A’s to deal Murphy over the winter and turn to Langeliers on a regular basis in 2023. Murphy drew interest from teams like the Guardians and Red Sox before this summer’s trade deadline, and the A’s will certainly get plenty of calls about his availability once teams are again allowed to trade MLB players.

Langeliers’ promotion won’t have huge immediate ramifications from a service time perspective. Enough time has passed that he won’t accrue enough action to reach a full year of service or qualify for early arbitration after 2024 as a Super Two player. If he’s on the MLB roster for good, Langeliers would reach arb-eligibility after the 2025 campaign and would first hit free agency over the 2028-29 offseason. Oakland can option him back to the minors over the next few years, and any demotions could impact his service trajectory.

While the Langeliers call-up is the most significant news for the A’s as they look ahead to future seasons, the corresponding transaction subtracts a player who has spent almost five years with the team. The A’s acquired Piscotty, a Bay Area native and Stanford product, from the Cardinals heading into the 2018 season. The righty-hitting outfielder had broken into the majors with two excellent seasons to earn a $33.5MM contract extension from St. Louis leading into the 2017 campaign. He didn’t perform at the same level his final season in St. Louis, but the A’s took a shot on a bounceback (and brought Piscotty closer to his family as his mother battled ALS) in a trade at the end of that year.

Initially, the change of scenery seemed to work wonders for Piscotty’s career. He popped 27 longballs and put up a .267/.331/.491 line over 151 games during his first season in green and gold. At age 27, Piscotty looked to have rediscovered his early-career form and seemed poised to settle in as a middle-of-the-order bat for years to come. That unfortunately hasn’t played out, as he’s posted below-average numbers in all four years since then.

Going back to the start of 2019, Piscotty owns a .229/.287/.378 line in just shy of 900 plate appearances. He’s hitting .190/.252/.341 with a 34.5% strikeout rate over 42 games this year. He’s gotten just one start over the past eight days, as the club has increasingly turned to Laureano in right field while playing rookie Cal Stevenson in center. With Piscotty earning such sporadic playing time, the A’s have decided to move on entirely.

Piscotty will technically be available to the league’s 29 other teams via release waivers over the next couple days. Any team that claims him would assume the approximate $2MM remaining on his $7.25MM salary, as well as the $1MM buyout on a $15MM team option for next season. That makes it a certainty he’ll clear waivers, with the A’s remaining on the hook for the rest of that sum. Piscotty will be a free agent in the next few days, at which point he’ll have the right to explore other opportunities. If he signs elsewhere before September 1 — even on a minor league contract — he’d be eligible for a new team’s postseason roster.

Laureano, meanwhile, will now miss at least the next week and a half. The team hasn’t provided further specifics on his diagnosis, but it’s common for oblique strains to cost players upwards of a month of action. Laureano missed the first month of the season as he finished out a PED suspension handed down last summer. He’s returned to play in 84 games, hitting .223/.300/.395 with 12 homers while splitting his time between center and right field.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

A’s Notes: Langeliers, Honeywell, Rotation

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The A’s could welcome one of their top prospects to the big leagues before the 2022 season is out. General manager David Forst said on the club’s pregame show this evening that he anticipates Triple-A catcher Shea Langeliers will make his MLB debut over the next two months (h/t to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). “Shea’s done an outstanding job. … I hope to see him here, get him some (at-bats), some time behind the plate, and see what he can do sometime this season,” Forst said. Langeliers is not yet on the 40-man roster, but he’d have to be added early next offseason to keep him being taken in the Rule 5 draft.

One of four minor leaguers acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson blockbuster, Langeliers was arguably the headlining piece of the return. The former No. 9 overall pick is a well-regarded defender, and he brings a fair bit of power potential offensively. The 24-year-old has spent the entire season at Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .281/.362/.513 with 19 home runs across 381 plate appearances. The Pacific Coast League’s extreme hitter-friendly nature has no doubt aided that production, but Langeliers’ strong defense means he’d be a very valuable performer with even adequate production in the batter’s box. Baseball America recently ranked the Baylor product the No. 2 prospect in the Oakland system and the sport’s No. 84 farmhand overall.

Langerliers’ forthcoming arrival coincides with a down cycle for the A’s, who stripped down the roster and payroll over the offseason. They’ve fallen to the bottom of the American League as a result, and there’s been some speculation they could move primary backstop Sean Murphy as part of the organizational overhaul. Murphy, who is controllable through 2025, drew interest before last week’s trade deadline but ultimately remained in the Bay Area. It stands to reason his name will be floated in rumors again this winter.

Some more out of Oakland:

  • Right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. has yet to throw his first pitch as a member of the A’s. Acquired from the Rays last November, Honeywell suffered an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow during Spring Training. He’s spent the entire season on the injured list, but the club isn’t ruling out the possibility he makes a late-season return. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com tweets that Honeywell is likely to throw a simulated game this week. Skipper Mark Kotsay suggested the club hasn’t yet determined whether there’ll be enough time for the 27-year-old to build back as a starting pitcher this season. A former top prospect, Honeywell has only managed 4 1/3 career big league innings because of a brutal series of elbow injuries. He’s out of minor league option years, so he’ll have to stick on the major league roster once he’s healthy or be exposed to waivers.
  • The starting rotation is a broad area of uncertainty for the A’s, as Melissa Lockard of the Athletic explores. The trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Bronx subtracted the club’s highest-octane arm and dropped them to three rotation locks: Cole Irvin, Paul Blackburn and James Kaprielian. Among those competing for the final two spots are Zach Logue, Adam Oller, Adrián Martínez and Jared Koenig. All four hurlers have gotten at least five starts on the year, but they’ve each posted an ERA of 4.98 or higher with a well below-average strikeout rate. Lockard suggests that two of the pitchers acquired in the Montas deal — JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk — could factor into the big league rotation down the stretch. Sears started two of seven MLB appearances with the Yankees this season, his first taste of big league action. Waldichuk has yet to make his big league debut and isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, although he’ll have to be added this offseason. Both Sears and Waldichuk have started their organizational tenures in Las Vegas.

Red Sox Notes: Deadline, Murphy, Payroll, Hosmer, Dalbec

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As chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom had suggested in the days leading up to the August 2 trade deadline, the Red Sox resisted strict categorization as a “buyer” or “seller.” Boston dealt #1 catcher Christian Vázquez to the Astros, flipped reliever Jake Diekman to the White Sox for Vázquez’s replacement Reese McGuire, and acquired Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. While Boston reportedly listened to offers on J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill, that group of rentals remained. So did stars Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, neither of whom was apparently ever really available.

The unconventional approach was a response to the Sox’s status just outside the AL Wild Card picture. They sat two games back at the time of the deadline but had gone just 8-19 in July, leading to some calls for more dramatic action in either direction — either tearing the slumping roster down or more aggressively addressing its flaws. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that the team’s more fluid approach to the deadline has confused various members of the organization, both uniformed personnel like players and coaches as well as some front office staffers.

Speaking with Speier, Bloom acknowledged the team’s atypical tack but expressed his belief the franchise wasn’t in position to act in a more specific direction. “I understand why people could look at what we did and scratch their heads. To us, it was pretty clear and pretty simple that the position we were in demanded a unique response.”

Speier sheds some light on some of the Sox’s pre-deadline discussions that didn’t ultimately come to fruition. He reports the club expressed some amount of interest in controllable A’s catcher Sean Murphy while also juggling potential shorter-term upgrades. According to Speier, the Red Sox contemplated a run at impending free agent relievers, but the club ultimately didn’t add to a bullpen that currently ranks 26th in the majors in ERA (4.42). At the same time, Boston apparently wasn’t motivated to shed the salaries of players like Martinez and Eovaldi to dip below the $230MM base luxury tax threshold. With the deadline passed, the Sox now look almost certain to pay the tax in 2022. The actual fee will be fairly small — likely just a couple million dollars — but it’ll set the Sox up to pay escalating penalties if they exceed the threshold again in 2023.

Not forcing midseason payroll cuts to a roster a year removed from an appearance in the ALCS is certainly understandable, but one could argue the Red Sox should’ve more aggressively added in that case. Pham and Hosmer do address the team’s biggest weak points on the position player side — right field and first base, respectively — but neither veteran is having a great season. One week certainly isn’t enough on which to base firm conclusions, but a 2-4 stretch since the deadline has dropped Boston five games back in the Wild Card race and only increased the difficulty of a late-season playoff push.

The deadline shuffle did cut into the playing time of a pair of regulars who haven’t performed as expected. Boston released Jackie Bradley Jr. last week, ending his second stint in the organization after a .210/.257/.321 showing through 290 plate appearances. Bobby Dalbec remains on the active roster, but he no longer seems to be Boston’s primary first baseman. Hosmer and Dalbec have platooned since the former was acquired, and the left-handed hitting Hosmer will be in line for the bulk of the playing time in that arrangement.

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe writes that Dalbec will begin working at second base in an effort to expand his defensive flexibility. The 6’4″, 227 pound infielder has never started a professional game at second base. Aside from a few mop-up innings in the middle infield, he’s played the corners exclusively. Dalbec conceded he has atypical size for a middle infielder but expressed confidence in his ability to handle the keystone adequately.

The 27-year-old also voiced a desire for regular playing time. “The more I play, the better I’ll do. It’s always been like that. I’m used to being an everyday player. It’s hard to have success when you get at-bats here and there,” Dalbec told Abraham. “I’m not the player I will be. This is all part of the learning process. In terms of the organization, I don’t know how they view me. I just want to help the team win. Honestly that’s all that matters. I don’t see myself as a platoon player, but right now that’s what I am.“

Dalbec hit 25 home runs last season but struck out at an alarming 34.4% clip. The Red Sox nevertheless turned to him as the primary first baseman for much of the year, but he’s stumbled to a .205/.280/.369 line across 300 trips to the dish. Dalbec has made some modest improvements to his strikeout and walk numbers, but his contact quality and batted ball results have plummeted. After connecting on 51 extra-base hits in 133 games last season, he’s tallied 20 across 97 contests in 2022.

Both Hosmer and Dalbec could eventually lose playing time to top prospect Triston Casas, who returned from an injured list stint in Triple-A late last month. Recently named the #30 prospect in the game by Baseball America, the power-hitting Casas owns a solid .246/.350/.455 showing through 223 plate appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester. The 22-year-old doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster until after the season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets his first MLB look late this year if he continues hitting well with the WooSox.

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