Braves: Sean Murphy trade was stroke of genius thanks to MLB rule changes

The Atlanta Braves look like total geniuses after trading for Sean Murphy this past offseason.

By trading for catcher Sean Murphy with the Oakland Athletics, the Atlanta Braves are even stronger and more powerful behind the dish than ever before.

Atlanta already had an All-Star behind the plate in veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud. Although the Braves had another capable backstop in William Contreras, the Braves opted to send the All-Star designated hitter to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the high-profile trade for Murphy. While he reunites with his former teammate Matt Olson in the Atlanta infield, this move is so much deeper.

With MLB implementing a handful of rule changes to increase the rate of play, having a defensive wizard behind the dish in Murphy makes the World Series-contending Braves all the more ferocious.

Let’s discuss how the Braves look like total geniuses for making this trade with the Athletics now.

Atlanta Braves look like total geniuses after trading for Sean Murphy already

In trading for Murphy, Atlanta wanted to get better pop time out of its backstops. D’Arnaud calls a good game, but his bat is what has led to a career renaissance in an Atlanta uniform. He did win a Silver Slugger after all. Contreras’ bat was also a huge part of his game, but he was still very raw behind the plate. The thought was he could have been a candidate to be moved over into left field.

And this is where Murphy comes in. He is a catcher, through and through. D’Arnaud is as well, but he is in his mid-30s and may not be in Atlanta for all that much longer. The Braves wisely extended Murphy on a team-friendly deal to solve their issues behind the plate for the foreseeable future. He will not only improve the Braves’ pop time from behind the plate, but will thrive on pick-offs.

One major rule change being implemented this season is pitchers are allowed only two pick-off attempts or steps off the rubber in a given plate appearance. This means strong-armed catchers like Murphy could be used more to pick off runners who get caught napping in no man’s land. Catchers rarely throw back to first, but this defensive tactic may now be more readily used in MLB.

Overall, I have always said that defense is an underrated part of playing winning baseball. Making great plays in the field are awesome, but it is more important not to give quality teams extra outs. Being able to throw out more would-be base stealers could help shorten the game for the Atlanta defense, the entire pitching staff and get the bats back into the hands of the lineup much faster.

Ultimately, Atlanta is on a short list of six or so teams who can realistically win the World Series. The Braves won it all two years ago when nobody really expected them to. A slow start to 2022 probably prevented them from getting back to the summit, but they have won the NL East five years in a row. This is clearly a top-six team in the NL and almost certainly in all of baseball, too.

As long as the Braves stay healthy and play up to their lofty potential, they will be hard to beat.