Atlanta Braves Swoop Up Yet Another Piece of the Sean Murphy Trade

The Athletics trade of Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves was just plain awful. Not only did they move a solid starting catcher, but they didn't even get back the second or third best player in the deal. On Monday, Atlanta brought in the other piece that the A's moved.

In a trade with the Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, the A's traded Murphy to Atlanta, and Joel Payamps to Milwaukee, while Atlanta sent the biggest piece of the deal, William Contreras, away to the Brewers. It's quite possible that both the A's and Braves would like a re-do on this deal.

After providing Milwaukee with a pair of solid seasons in 2023 and 2024, Payamps has faltered this season. The 31-year-old right-hander has posted a 7.23 ERA with a 1.61 WHIP across 23 2/3 innings for the Brewers this year, after combining for a 2.78 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP in 129 2/3 innings the previous two seasons.

While he hasn't been a big name relief pitcher, he's certainly pitched like one of the better relievers in baseball the past two seasons. Now the Braves are taking on shot on him, claiming him off waivers from Milwaukee on Monday.

To make room for Payamps on the 40-man roster, the Braves have designated 29-year-old righty Connor Seabold for assignment. Payamps has been designated for assignment by Milwaukee twice this season, first on May 22, only to be outrighted to the minors, then again on September 20.

What makes this addition interesting for Atlanta is that the righty still has two years of arbitration remaining after this one, and he won't reach free agency until after the 2027 campaign. The veteran reliever is earning $2.995 million this year in his second season of arbitration, so he figures to be a relatively inexpensive high-ceiling addition for Atlanta heading into 2026.

While Payamps has been added to the 40-man roster, he was not added to the Braves 28-man roster for the final week of the season just yet.

From the A's standpoint, they have been without any part of the return they got for Murphy and Payamps for most of this season. Kyle Muller is pitching overseas, Freddy Tarnok has been up and down with the Miami Marlins, catcher Manny Piña was hurt most of his one season with the team, and Esteury Ruiz was DFA'd at the beginning of the season and claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The final piece of the return, Royber Salinas, was claimed by Atlanta last November, but he put up a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings in Hi-A, and was released by the club in July. He has not signed elsewhere.

Estuery Ruiz is the only player that was included in this deal that has not yet been under the Atlanta organizational umbrella.

The Athletics have said consistently that they don't plan on having to make these type of big trades as much in the future, with the club heading to Las Vegas. Based off of how this trade ended up, it's probably for the best.