Sean Murphy was one of the Oakland A’s prominently featured in trade rumors prior to the deadline. It made sense for him to be on the block; he is about to enter arbitration and Shea Langeliers has nothing to prove in Triple-A. All that had to happen was for the right deal to come along.
That almost happened. The Cleveland Guardians reportedly felt as though they were close to landing Murphy several times before the deadline, but that deal ultimately never materialized.
Cleveland Guardians could take another run at Sean Murphy
Ultimately, Murphy ended up staying in Oakland, where he will likely finish out the season as the A’s primary catcher. However, it seems inevitable that Langeliers will make his debut at some point this season, making Murphy more of a luxury.
At the same time, Murphy is the type of trade chip that any team would love to have. He is a Gold Glove caliber catcher with plenty of power, someone who consistently hits the ball hard when he makes contact. His approach at the plate has improved as the season continued as well, as he is drawing walks while cutting down on his strikeout rate.
The Guardians do have a top catching prospect of their own. Bryan Lavastida is viewed as their catcher of the future, a line drive hitter with surprising speed. However, he has not exactly had much success throwing out minor league base stealers and has struggled with the bat this year. Murphy would give Cleveland a proven commodity with three years of team control.
The fact that the Guardians thought they were close is seemingly enough to re-ignite those talks again this offseason. Likewise, the A’s will be continuing to part ways with veteran players as they look to pare down payroll as much as they can. Murphy will be on the block again.
The Cleveland Guardians thought they were close to landing Sean Murphy at the trade deadline. That could end up happening during the offseason.