Braves 2023 All-Star Named MLB Trade Deadline Candidate

Baseball pundits continue to stress that the Atlanta Braves will not be sellers at the MLB trade deadline. But players on the Atlanta roster keep arising in trade rumors.

The Athletic's David O'Brien wrote Friday that trading veteran catcher Sean Murphy "could be a possibility" for the Braves before the trade deadline.

"As good as the strong-armed 2023 All-Star is behind the plate with blocking, framing and game calling, and as much of a power threat as Murphy can be — he’s rebounded from a career-worst .636 OPS and 76 OPS+ in 2024 to post a .784 OPS and 118 OPS+ — the Braves have a potential star emerging at catcher in rookie Drake Baldwin and might be a better offensive team with Baldwin catching four of five games," wrote O'Brien.

The longtime Braves reporter continued, explaining that without Murphy, the Braves could clear $15 million off their payroll for each of the next three seasons.

O'Brien also identified two potential landing spots for Murphy.

"The Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants are contenders getting woeful offense from catchers who could use Murphy, who has the intellect and personality that teams know he could step in at midseason and immediately gain the confidence of pitchers," added O'Brien.

Murphy showcased tremendous power in April after returning from a Spring Training rib injury. Behind seven home runs in the first month, Murphy's OPS is roughly 150 points higher than last year.

But since April 28, Murphy has only gone deep twice. He's also still not getting much contact. This season, he's hitting .222.

His batting average during his April home run barrage and since then has been nearly the same.

Meanwhile, rookie catcher Drake Baldwin has arguably been an All-Star this season. Baldwin is slashing .295/.345/.485 with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 142 plate appearances. After a very slow first week, he's batting .336 with a .940 OPS in the past 39 games.

O'Brien argued the Braves could use veteran catcher James McCann as a backup for Baldwin if they trade Murphy. McCann made the American League All-Star team in 2019 and is playing at Triple-A Gwinnett this season.

Trading Murphy may seem like a sellers move, but it's a trade that pundits mentioned as a possibility for Atlanta before the team's poor last three weeks. As Baldwin continues to emerge as a star, Murphy becomes less of a need and more of an unnecessary expense.

Murphy is likely to remain involved in MLB trade rumors both this summer and after the season.