The Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics made a triangle trade. Sean Murphy, one of the most popular traders, wears an Atlanta uniform.
On the 13th (Korean time), ‘MLB.com’ reported on the triangular trade between Atlanta, Milwaukee and Oakland. The key to this trade was the movement of Sean Murphy.
Atlanta took a lot of blood to get Murphy. In exchange for Murphy, Atlanta sent all prospects to Oakland, including catcher Manny Pigna, left-hander Kyle Mueller (1st prospect), right-hander Freddie Tannock (6th best prospect), and Royber Salinas (18th best).
The trade didn’t stop there. Having secured Murphy, Atlanta used ‘All-Star Catcher’ William Contreras as a card. Atlanta even gave Contreras and right-hander Justin Lee to Milwaukee.
Milwaukee sent outfielder Esteuri Ruiz, who is ranked eighth in the minor leagues this year with 85 stolen bases (37 double-A steals, 안전놀이터 48 triple-A steals), to Oakland, and Oakland sent Joel Fayamps to Milwaukee. The trade was completed when I surrendered.
In other words, Atlanta moved as many as seven players to get Murphy. Oakland, on the other hand, gave up Murphy and swept prospects from Atlanta and Milwaukee. Milwaukee also gave up only Esteuri Ruiz and acquired a starting catcher and two right-handed pitchers.
Murphy debuted in Oakland in 2019 and played in 330 games over four major league seasons, hitting 46 home runs with a batting average of 0.236 OPS of 0.755. In the 2020 season, he was ranked fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, and last season he won the Gold Glove. Moreover, this year, the catcher succeeded in winning the MVP vote.
Murphy has been the focus of the trade market this winter, and Atlanta risked bleeding prospects to embrace him. However, the part that is somewhat incomprehensible is the transfer of Contreras. Contreras is a promising catcher who was selected as an All-Star by playing 20 home runs in 97 games this year with a batting average of 0.278 and an OPS of 0.860.
Even if they succeeded in acquiring Murphy in trade to strengthen their catcher defense, they gave up Contreras, who was selected as an All-Star this season, very easily. On the other hand, it seems that Atlanta has suffered too much loss with only one player, Murphy.
On the surface, the teams that smiled in this trade were Milwaukee and Oakland. It remains to be seen what the outcome of this trade will be.