MLB Mock Trade: Atlanta Braves Deal Sean Murphy To San Diego Padres

The Atlanta Braves could trade catcher Sean Murphy to the Padres amid a disastrous 2025 season, with both teams potentially benefiting from a deal that shakes up the NL playoff race and fantasy baseball landscape.

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy (12) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning at Truist Park. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

This season has gone even worse than even their loudest detractors could have imagined for the Atlanta Braves. They have been devastated by injuries and bogged down by players having disappointing seasons. At the all-star break, they now sit in fourth place in the NL East behind the Marlins with a record of 42 - 53, 12.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place and nowhere near an NL Wild Card spot. 

There is precedent to say that the Braves may not throw in the towel and sell because we've seen it before. In 2021, they looked dead in the water near the bottom of the division at the all-star break and had just lost their best player, Ronald Acuna Jr, for the season. Instead of selling like most expected them to do, they made a few minor trades that looked mostly insignificant at the time. 

They acquired Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, and Adam Duvall. All four guys had seen their production drop and were mostly in platoon roles. Well, the Braves went on an all-time great young run and won the 2021 World Series. Soler went on to win the World Series MVP, Rosario the NLCS MVP, and both Pederson and Duvall had a huge hand in helping the team make the playoffs and win once they got there. 

Because of that 2021, it's reasonable to consider that the Braves could keep one foot in and add a few cheap options in hopes of another miraculous playoff run. With that said, we don't see it with this team, and if they don't start winning immediately out of the break, they would be stupid not to sell. One player who has emerged as an unexpected trade candidate is catcher Sean Murphy. 

There are a lot of reasons for teams to covet Murphy. He's an all-star catcher who is still under team control until 2030 and comes with a reasonable price tag of $15 million per year. He's an outstanding defensive catcher with a Gold Glove on his resume. In 60 games with 199 at-bats this season, he has hit 16 home runs and driven in 38 RBIs despite a slow start after he missed time at the beginning of the season. 

One team that could make a move for him is the San Diego Padres. They could use a great defensive catcher with some pop in their bat, and they also have a tendency to target all-star caliber players with significant time left on their contracts. 

Atlanta Braves - San Diego Padres MLB Mock Trade

San Diego Padres Receive

C Sean Murphy

Atlanta Braves Receive 

Prospect - INF Cobb Hightower

Prospect - LHP Omar Cruz

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Braves

The trade works for Atlanta because they have a valuable long-term piece that they can afford to move. Stud rookie Drake Baldwin has been a breakout star at catcher this season and is the current favorite to be named the NL Rookie of the Year this season. Murphy is a very good player; however, he has more value in a trade for them than as a long-term option because of the emergence of Baldwin, making him expendable. 

In this deal, they get a talented young middle infielder with a ton of potential. They have been struggling to figure out the shortstop position for two years now, and Ozzie Albies has dealt with injuries at second base and has seen a drop in production. This team needs to start looking long-term at short and to a lesser degree, second. They also add a young lefty pitching prospect in this deal that who they will look to develop. 

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Padres

The Padres don't have a catcher on their roster who is batting at least .200 or has reached even five home runs on the season. Murphy has already hit five home runs in July, including four last week, with three coming in the last series before the break. He's both a much better player than Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado on offense and defense, and also swinging a red-hot bat right now. At 30 years old, Murphy is also four years younger than Diaz and eight years younger than Maldonado. His addition helps them both short-term for a playoff run and long-term as he can be their starting catcher for the next half-decade. 

Fantasy Baseball Impact

Both Baldwin and Murphy come out as the big winners here. Separating them would lead to more playing time for both impressive catchers. Baldwin gets to play his games in the hitter-friendly Truist Park as the clear starter, and Murphy sees a bump in playing time while joining a much more productive offense. This would be an ideal trade for fantasy owners of both.