A's Reportedly Targeting Major Leaguers for Sean Murphy
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the A's "are seeking major leaguers rather than prospects for Sean Murphy, and telling interested clubs they will keep the catcher if they do not receive a satisfactory trade offer."
This could be clever GM speak (or President of Baseball Operations speak) by David Forst. By saying the team wants big leaguers, that could literally mean guys that have played in the majors. It could also be a way of saying top prospects, or guys with a pretty good chance of having an impact in The Show. A team's #1 and #30 prospects are both considered prospects, but the guys at the top of the list are thought to have a better chance of becoming regular big leaguers.
If this does in fact mean that the A's are trying to acquire big leaguers to get upgrades all over the roster, then that could limit the amount of trade partners that the A's have available to them. Not every team has surplus depth that they'd feel comfortable pulling from.
The Cardinals could package Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar, or one of those two with Matthew Liberatore, and make an interesting package.
The Rays have Jonathan Aranda and Vidal Bruján as two options.
The White Sox could be the intriguing team here. It's hard to see them parting with both players, but Andrew Vaughn has been a target of the A's in the past, so he would likely be a big-league target for them again. Eloy Jiménez has dealt with injuries every year he has been in the big leagues. If the White Sox are willing to give him up, he could be an interesting trade piece too. Jiménez will be entering his age 26 season and is owed $10.33MM next season and $13.83MM in 2024 before two team options at $16.5MM and $18.5MM in 2025 and 2026.
The A's don't typically spend that much on a single player, but Eloy is a solid bat-first guy that can hit for average and power. He could be this team's version of Khris Davis.
Regardless of which team has the best package of big leaguers, the switch in philosophy comes on the heels of Billy Beane taking a step back to an advisor role and David Forst taking Beane's old post.
Targeting big leaguers, or big league ready guys would appear to be the right move, with so many of the A's top prospects set to begin the 2023 season in Triple-A, one step away from the majors.
Shea Langeliers is the heir to Sean Murphy behind the dish. Tyler Soderstrom will presumably be manning first base--which could make the Vaughn/Eloy package a little tricky--Zack Gelof could take over at second or third with Jordan Díaz and Kevin Smith being other options for those spots.
The outfield gets a little tricky. Seth Brown and Ramón Laureano are the veterans, but could also be trade chips. Then there's Cristian Pache, who is a work in progress, but could take the next step in 2023. Conner Capel impressed in a small sample. Outfield is a position the A's could use a little more certainty. Lawrence Butler is making his way up the minor league ladder, but is still a year away.
Eloy Jiménez and Andrew Vaughn shouldn't patrol the outfield. Vaughn because he grades terribly defensively, and Eloy because of the injury risk.
That could leave the Cardinals--if they offer Nootbaar--as the last team standing.