Sean Murphy is every bit the hitter and catcher that Alex Anthopoulos told us he was
There were some fans who were...not happy when Atlanta gave up All-Star (at DH) catcher William Contreras, top-rated prospect LHP Kyle Muller, and four other players in a three-way trade (with the Milwaukee Brewers) to get Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy in December. Then the team did what the Atlanta Braves do and signed Murphy to a six-year, $73M extension just days later.
That consternation by a small subset of fans amplified after the start to the 2023 season that Murphy had - he was batting .150/.393/.200 through April 9th, not collecting a hit until his third start (in game five of the season) and being held without a homerun.
Not many folks are complaining now.
Since Travis d'Arnaud went on the concussion IL on August 9th, Murphy's been the everyday starter at catcher and has absolutely RAKED - he's 9-19 with 11 RBIs and 6 runs scored. Even more notable, every single one of those nine hits has been for extra bases - he has six doubles and three longballs in that stretch.
His first homerun in Atlanta came the very next day after d'Arnaud left the game, on April 10th, walking off the Reds (and being the first "Murphy" to hit a walk-off homer for Atlanta since Dale Murphy in 1990.)
WATCH: Sean Murphy walks it off in Braves win vs the Cincinnati Reds
These hits haven't been cheap, either - eight of the eleven balls that Murphy has put into play have been "hard hit" (defined by Statcast at 95 MPH or higher) and seven have been over 105 mph, including a 111.3 double to straightway center in spacious Kauffman Stadium.
He's hit a home run and two doubles twice in the last five days, making some history: Austin Riley and Matt Olson (both in 2022) are the only Braves to record two doubles and a home run in a single game twice in the same SEASON since 2010, and Murphy did it in the same week.
If you go back to 2000, the list is even more illustrious: Brian McCann (2009), Marcus Giles (2003), and Chipper Jones (2001 & 2003). Only McCann did it in the same week (July 26th and 30th) like Murphy has.
Murphy's lived up to his reputation as a talented defender, as well. A year after finishing 2nd in fWar (according to Fangraphs), behind J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies, Murphy's grading out well in this limited 2023 sample. His framing is estimated to be in the 87th percentile in all of MLB, via Statcast, and he's in the top 20 in blocks above average as well. He would be in the top 20 in pop time with an above-average 1.93, but opposing runners haven't wanted to test him - he only has four attempts to 2nd and the MLB leaderboards require five to even qualify.
(By comparison, 11 runners have already attempted steals on J.T. Realmuto)
Playing every day isn't sustainable for most catchers - the wear and tear on your body is significant, and frequent breaks are needed. But he's shown he can play most days - his 116 games played at catcher in 2022 was second to only J.T. Realmuto, who played in 133 (with 130 starts). We fully expect Chadwick Tromp to spell Murphy, possibly as soon as Sunday's series finale against the Royals, but Murphy's shown the capacity to play most games in a given week or series for his team if needed.
If Murphy can settle into four starts a week, it allows Travis d'Arnaud to spend more time rotating in at DH, a position where the Braves have struggled to get production. Marcell Ozuna, ostensibly the starting DH, is batting only .075/.196/.225 with two hits in his last thirty-one at-bats, spanning ten games, with one RBI and twelve strikeouts over that stretch.
On the season, non-d'Arnaud DHs (Ozuna for 10 starts, Eddie Rosario for 2) are batting 4-39 with two homeruns, two RBIs, four runs scored and seven walks to thirteen strikeouts. By comparison, d'Arnaud as a DH is 9-18 with two doubles, four RBIs, and three runs scored.
As soon as Travis d'Arnaud is able to return (which is not known at this time - he hasn't been doing baseball activities as he works to recover from his fourth career concussion), Atlanta will have more options for settling the DH spot.
But in the meantime, Murphy's shown he can handle the load, both at and behind the plate.
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