The Atlanta Braves, who still hold MLB’s best record, finally lost a series over the past few days, after dropping two of three to the Seattle Mariners. The Braves will enjoy an off-day on Thursday, and then will head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers to round out a lengthy west coast road trip.
During the Mariners series, Atlanta welcomed back the services of catcher Sean Murphy. After Murphy had a solid Triple-A rehab assignment, he received a handful of at-bats against Seattle. It’s very apparent that Drake Baldwin is now the Braves’ starting catcher, but Atlanta traded Jonah Heim this week to make room for Sean Murphy.
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Braves Need to Consider Trading Sean Murphy
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 29: Sean Murphy #12 of the Atlanta Braves in action during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 29, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
It might be an uncomfortable conversation for the Braves front office, which inked Sean Murphy to a six-year, $73 million contract before the 2023 season, but it might be time to trade away Murphy before it’s too late.
In that Mariners series, Murphy received six at-bats, and he struck out in three of them and recorded just a single hit.
FanSided. com writer Nick Halden wrote (on May 7):Â
“There is every reason to wonder if the Braves could consider attempting to trade Murphy ahead of this year’s trade deadline if things don’t improve in the next month of the season. It is incredibly important to note here as well that it is still extremely early in the season, and a two-game sample size is far from definitive.”
Last season, Sean Murphy carried some trade rumors for most of the season, but he ultimately ended up missing the end of the season due to a hip injury, which also limited him to begin this season. Murphy has 10-15 home run upside, but in both 2024 and 2025, he failed to hit above .200 and appear in more than 100 games. It’s looking likely that he won’t meet the 100 games played plateau this season.
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Sean Murphy’s Time with the Braves
Sean Murphy came over in an offseason trade at the same time as Matt Olson before the 2023 season.
In 276 games played with Atlanta, Murphy has a batting average of .219 with an OPS+ of 104, which is league average, but his recent numbers are trending in the wrong direction. His OPS+ was 76 in 2024 and 98 in 2025.
Again, it’s very early, but another point that writer Nick Halden makes is that Sean Murphy should be on thin ice with the Braves, especially given Drake Baldwin’s emergence as one of MLB’s best catchers. And there have been reports that Baldwin and the Braves have no had contract extension talks, which could be in part due to Murphy’s $73 million deal, which will run out after the 2028 season.
“Murphy should be considered on incredibly thin ice with the Braves taking the next month to evaluate the catcher’s future. If there are no signs of offensive life, the front office should see if there is a team willing to take on the deal in what could be a simple salary dump.”
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