The great Oakland A’s exodus continued on Monday, as the franchise sent sought-after catcher Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves in a three-team blockbuster that also included the Milwaukee Brewers.
According to various reports, the A’s will be receiving prospects – left-hander Kyle Muller, right-hander Freddy Tarnok and outfielder Esteury Ruiz – and veteran catcher Manny Pina. Milwaukee will be getting 2022 All-Star catcher William Contreras from the Braves, along with Joel Payamps and Justin Yeager. (H/T to MLB Trade Rumors for a roundup of the reports).
Murphy is just the latest quality player from Oakland to be traded away or leave the organization since the end of the 2021 season, joining other stars like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Mark Canha and manager Bob Melvin. Not to mention that bench coach Brad Ausmus left the organization after just one season by the side of first-year manager Mark Kotsay in 2022, and longtime executive Billy Beane has moved to a hands-off special advisor role following a 33-year run in the front office.
trade reaction ⬇️ as Braves acquire Sean Murphy
Now Murphy is the latest to be shipped away and he’ll join his old teammate and friend Olson in Atlanta. Murphy won the Gold Glove in 2021 and ramped up his offensive projection in the middle of a toothless Oakland lineup last season, slashing .250/.332/.426 with career-high 18 homers and 66 RBIs. In a league with a dearth of offensive catchers, Murphy’s 122 wRC+ ranked seventh in MLB, according to Fangraphs. Contreras led the league with his 138 wRC+.
Former Braves farmhand Shea Langeliers, 25, now has the keys as the A’s catcher and arguably become the face of the franchise. Langeliers started off hot in his first two weeks with Oakland in 2022 but eventually came back down to earth, finishing with a .218/.261/.430 slash line with six homers and 22 RBIs in 40 games.
Muller was ranked as the Braves top prospect by MLB.com. The 25-year-old southpaw has appeared in 12 big league games (11 starts) the past two seasons but struggled with a 5.14 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. The 6-foot-7 Muller posted a 3.41 ERA in 23 starts in Triple-A with a 159/40 K/BB ratio. He profiles as a power lefty with a 95+ mph fastball and a power slider.
The 24-year-old Tarnok made his MLB debut in August, pitching 2/3 of an inning, and was ranked as the Braves No. 6 prospect by MLB.com. He split the 2022 season between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, posting a 4.05 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 25 games (23 starts), with a 124/44 K/BB ratio in 106 2/3 innings.
Ruiz, 23, went 6-for-35 in his sparing MLB duties for the Padres and Brewers last year and was ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 8 prospect by MLB.com. He put up an impressive .332/.447/.526 slash line with 16 homers and 65 RBIs and figures to be in the mix for major at-bats in 2023, as he can play all three outfield positions.
Pina could be a candidate to backup Langeliers in 2023, but only played in five games last April before undergoing season-ending surgery on his wrist.
Things are looking pretty grim around Oakland these days, who are staring at another 100-loss season in the face, thanks to the lack of ownership investment by John Fisher, who seems willing to lose his fanbase in order to focus his resources and money on getting a new stadium deal at Howard Terminal. Because it seems impossible for him to bankroll a competitive team now while also investing in the future. Lest we forget the recent signings of 32-year-old utility men Aledmys Diaz (two years, $14.5 million) and Jace Peterson (two years, $14.5 million) during the winter meetings.
It’s become a foregone conclusion that the A’s can hold on to their own talent, as Murphy was expected to make $3.5 million this year in his first season of arbitration. Once the team failed to make a serious run at Marcus Semien in 2020, for a homegrown East Bay star who developed into one of the premier infielders in the game, you could sense another steep decline was coming from the cyclical A’s. For now, they’re stocking up on prospects for a new stadium that is in holding pattern as the City of Oakland gets settled with its newly-elected mayor Sheng Thao and City Council.
Fisher has continuously failed to allow the front office to make any big-time retentions throughout his tenure, unless you count the two-year, $33.5 million deal with Khris Davis in 2019. The biggest financial commitment the A’s have made since Fisher bought the team came in 2012, when Yoenis Cespedes was signed as an international free agent out of Cuba, for four years and $36 million. Cespedes didn’t play out the entire deal in Oakland, as the A’s shipped him to Boston in 2014 in a controversial deadline deal centered around southpaw Jon Lester.
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