Braves: 3 times Alex Anthopoulos thrived on the hot stove, and 1 time he got burnt

1 time Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos thrived on hot stove: Sean Murphy trade

Alex Anthopoulos double-dipped into the pool of elite A’s positional players to acquire Sean Murphy from Oakland one year removed from his celebrated Matt Olson trade. While the A’s clearly did not, uh, improve, the Braves certainly did. Murphy has been playing MVP-level baseball for the Braves.

On top of his brilliant work behind the plate, Murphy has been another staple of the Braves’ deadly offense. He’s slashing .289/.385/.540 at the plate with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs (on track for career highs in every category). He’s slipping out of the MVP race because of his own teammate’s brilliance, but even Ronald Acuña can’t overshadow the pronounced impact of Murphy’s arrival.

The Braves gave up a lot to get Murphy: All-Star catcher William Contreras and Kyle Muller, a top-ranked pitching prospect. It’s impossible to grade deals with any real certainty this early, but Contreras’ numbers are down across the board for the Brewers while Murphy looks ready to rocket into the stratosphere with Atlanta.

Anthopoulos shaped the Braves’ 2021 championship roster with a flurry of midseason trades. Now, two blockbuster moves to acquire Matt Olson and Sean Murphy in consecutive offseasons have them right back on the World Series doorstep. If Atlanta can pull off another deep run, Murphy will no doubt play a central role.