The Atlanta Braves don't only have a subpar offense, but they have a clunky one.
Because Marcell Ozuna clogs up the designated hitter role, the Braves are forced to bench one of their excellent catchers every game. Rookie Drake Baldwin (130 OPS+) has appeared in 60 of the team's 90 games; veteran Sean Murphy in 56.
While there are worse problems to have than an overqualified catching platoon, it feels as though the Braves are sitting on a wealth of assets at one specific position, while their roster lacks in other areas.
That's why, less than halfway through his six-year, $73 million extension, one baseball insider feels Murphy could be on the move.
On Wednesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic previewed the upcoming trade deadline, and gave his opinion that trading Murphy for assets while clearing the path for Baldwin to assume the starting job on a permanent basis was a good idea.
"I think the Braves just need to get their starting pitching healthy for next year and only require a slight reboot at the deadline rather than a transformation," Bowden wrote.
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"Trading catcher Sean Murphy to open the door full-time for Drake Baldwin makes sense to me, as does dealing soon-to-be free agent Marcell Ozuna. The Braves are going to need (Chris) Sale next year, so I wouldn’t trade him. Of course, the Braves would have to at least listen to offers — in case someone wants to overpay."
Murphy's 2024 struggles look to be in the past. Many teams would gladly sign up for a .225/.309/.478 slash line from their starting catcher, though those numbers might take a hit if he's playing more against righties.
The question would be how teams view that extension. If they've got no problem paying it off and sending the Braves some surplus value in return, Atlanta just might have to take the plunge.
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