The Oakland A’s wanted two major-league-able positioners for catcher Sean Murphy. The Braves didn’t want to trade Vaughn Grissom, whom they’re preparing to potentially replace free agent Dansby Swanson at shortstop. And the A’s didn’t need William Contreras after acquiring another catcher from the Braves, Shea Langeliers, in a deal with Matt Olson nine months ago.
In fact, the teams didn’t have a game. But on Tuesday, the Braves still landed Murphy and parted with six players in a three-team trade. Contreras and minor league right-hander Justin Yeager left for the Brewers, along with reliever Joel Payamps from the A’s. Left-handers Kyle Muller, catcher Manny Piña, and minor league right-handers Freddy Tarnok and Royber Salinas went to the A’s, with Muller replacing second position players Oakland failed to capture.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, two separate occurrences helped the deal go through. The first was the Cardinals’ move from Murphy to sign Contreras’ older brother, Willson Contreras, to a four-year, $87.5 million contract as a free agent. The second was the Braves’ willingness to send William Contreras to the Brewers so they could access midfielder Esteury Ruiz, a player the A’s had identified to the clubs as a player they wanted for Murphy.
Ruiz, who turns 24 on Feb. 15, was part of the Brewers’ return for Josh Hader at the close. His arrival in Oakland could jeopardize the future of Cristian Pache, another player the A’s acquired in the Olson trade. Ruiz finished the season with an on-base percentage of .447 in 541 plate appearances at Double A and Triple A. He also stole 85 bases in 99 attempts and should benefit from the new rules baseball is introducing to curb base stealing to improve in 2023 – bigger bases, pickoff and step-off limits, a pitch clock.
Esteury Ruiz (Joe Camporeale / USA Today Sports)
Why would the Brewers trade such an athlete? Because they’re getting a different type of athlete in William Contreras, a 2022 All-Star, they’re confident their coaches can help improve defensively, even if the Braves viewed him more as a bat catcher. Why would the A’s hold Ruiz in such high esteem despite his lack of power? Because they love his speed and ability to play center. Because he’s improved his contact and walk rates over the past season. And because they never agreed to a deal with the cardinals.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, citing a source, reported that the A’s were targeting a return from the Cardinals, including outfielder Lars Nootbaar, Gold Glove winner Brendan Donovan and a young power pitcher like Gordon Graceffo. But another source briefed on the talks said the A’s wanted Nootbaar or Donovan plus Graceffo. The Cardinals were unwilling to trade any of those players, instead wanting the A’s to pick two from a group of four consisting of outfielder Dylan Carlson, second baseman Nolan Gorman, outfielder Alec Burleson and first baseman Juan Yepez.
When the teams couldn’t reach an agreement, the Cardinals signed Willson Contreras, losing their second-highest pick in the 2023 draft and $500,000 from their international bonus pool, but keeping all of their young talent. Assessing the Murphy trade will then include an analysis of whether the Cardinals would have been better off trading 28-year-old Murphy for three years than Contreras, who turns 31 on May 13, in the biggest deal in club history to sign a free agent from another club. And the questions will not end here.
Was this deal necessary for the Braves? Have you given up too much? The answers won’t be immediately apparent and could change if the Braves sign Murphy on one of their patented long-term renewals. Still, William Contreras, Piña and Travis d’Arnaud helped the team achieve the highest OPS in the catcher of any team last season. Contreras, who hits right-handed but creates power in the backfield like a left-handed racquet, is under club control for another five years.
One of the intriguing aspects of this deal is that the Braves set a high bar defensively for their catchers, considering William Contreras to be similar to Willson, just appropriate behind the plate. Brewers general manager Matt Arnold, on the other hand, noted that Piña, Yasmani Grandal and Omar Narváez became better defenders under the tutelage of Milwaukee staffers, suggesting he believes William can do the same.
The rest of the Brewers’ Booty is less intriguing. Payamps, one of the two pitchers they acquired, was likely earmarked for allocation by the A’s who have to vacate 40-man roster spots. Yeager, the other pitching addition, was left unprotected by the Braves and was not selected in the recent Rule 5 draft.
Muller, Tarnok and Salinas, the pitchers who rose from the Braves to the A’s, are more respected. Muller was down the Braves’ depth chart and likely would have run out of options by the end of the season, but the A’s believe he has nothing left to prove at Triple A. Also Tarnok was part of the Braves 40-man list and the A’s see him as a potential helper for 100mph. More of a lottery ticket, Salinas hit 175 in 109 innings on two levels of A-ball last season.
An executive from another team who wanted Murphy described the A’s return as “meh” and said the Oakland message was “never band but two of your best.” As always with baseball trades, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And with the A’s, so much will depend on Ruiz.
If the A’s wanted William Contreras, they could have made this deal directly with the Braves without involving the Brewers. But the A’s didn’t start making offers for Murphy until the close of trading because they were acting from a position of strength as a catcher.
Langeliers is entering its first full season. Tyler Soderstrom, the No. 1 A’s according to MLB Pipeline, was the team’s 2020 first-round pick and could end up on first base rather than the catcher. Daniel Susac, the team’s first-rounder in 2022 and potential No. 4, is further from the majors but is likely to remain behind the plate.
Ruiz, meanwhile, could be the A in the middle’s long-term solution, another position in the middle. He appeared in just three games for the Brewers during a week-long stint, but made a strong impression. “He’s really grown up,” said a Brewers staffer. “Billy Hamilton is fast with an aggressive swing and an idea on the plate. A guy from 60 to 70 on a stolen basis. Impressive in the short stint. Unimpressed by MLB.”
On Monday, he was the catalyst for a three-team, nine-player trade. The A’s believe he can be the catalyst for much more.
(Top Photo by Sean Murphy: G Fiume/Getty Images)