Braves: 3 terrible takes Atlanta has already proven wrong this season

2. Atlanta Braves really did not need to trade for Sean Murphy this offseason

A big reason for the Braves’ success last season was their All-Star backstop tandem in Travis d’Arnaud and William Contreras. While d’Arnaud’s strong season for the Braves was not all that much of a surprise, seeing Contreras rake at the plate in somewhat of a DH role certainly was. Even more shockingly, the Braves then traded Contreras to Milwaukee to land one Sean Murphy.

This three-team deal between the Braves, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Oakland Athletics was a major talking point throughout this offseason. Yes, we all knew that Murphy was an excellent player behind the plate in relative obscurity for the Athletics, but Atlanta already had d’Arnaud! Well, once d’Arnaud suffered a concussion vs. the San Diego Padres in early April, Murphy took off.

While he has been dealing with a hamstring issue the last few days, Murphy remains the leading vote-getter for catchers for the MLB All-Star Game in his first season in the National League. His work behind the plate has been as advertised, but his power bat of the clutch variety has been even better than expected. The best part is he and d’Arnaud seem to have made each other better.

Atlanta is so fortunate to have such an elite backstop tandem, one that they somehow upgraded.