The month of October continues to belong to Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras. After almost single-handedly willing his team past the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, he laid waste to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS, delivering three hits — including both the game-tying homer and the go-ahead single in consecutive innings. For those keeping score at home, that now raises his postseason OPS to a whopping 1.264.
For most fans, it's been a thrill to watch, either because you want bad things to happen to the Dodgers or because you root for a team that might be in on the seemingly inevitable trade sweepstakes this winter. For fans of the Atlanta Braves, though, all it brings is pain — and regret over what's become one of the worst trades in recent franchise history.
Sean Murphy-for-William Contreras swap looks like a disaster for the Braves
Before he was a superstar in Milwaukee, Contreras was an up-and-coming young player in Atlanta, where he split time behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud from 2020 to 2022. He posted an .809 OPS over that span (119 OPS+), and even made an All-Star team in '22 while slashing .278/.354/.506 and hitting 20 homers in 97 games — all at just 24 years old.
And then, just like that, he was gone. That December, he was sent to Milwaukee as part of a three-team trade that brought A's catcher Sean Murphy back to the Braves. It was a shocking move, but one that most felt made sense for Atlanta: Murphy had posted a 115 OPS+ over his first four big-league seasons, and unlike Contreras — who most scouts were unsure could stick as a catcher long-term — he was one of the very best defenders in baseball behind the plate. Sure, he was some three years older, but that was a sacrifice the Braves were willing to make after winning a World Series just one season prior.
Safe to say things haven't gone to plan since. Murphy had a strong 2023 season, but that's still the only time he's managed to play 100 or more games across four years in Atlanta. And all of those injuries have taken their toll on his bat, too, as he's hitting below the Mendoza Line with an 82 OPS+ since 2024. (That includes a dismal .182/.256/.300 slash line this year.) Entering his age-32 season, it seems pretty unlikely that he ever comes anywhere close to the player he was in Oakland.
All of which makes Contreras' ascendence to stardom loom even larger. It would be one thing if Murphy were holding up his end of the bargain; sure, it always hurts to give up a great young player, but the Braves would take that trade if it allowed them to maximize their championship window. Instead, they've gotten bounced from the playoffs early in four of the last five years, and while Murphy is far from the only reason why, he certainly hasn't helped matters.
And the real kicker is that Contreras has slowly but surely gotten better as a defender. Sure, he'll never win a Gold Glove behind the plate, but he's at least at the point now where you can run him out there every day without worrying that he'll be a liability — which, considering his bat, is a huge luxury.
It would've been difficult for Alex Anthopoulos to foresee all of that at the time. But the fact remains that he downgraded his team at a crucial position and compounded that problem by locking Murphy up to a contract that hamstrings what he can do to improve this Braves team moving forward. All while his former player offers one painful reminder after another on the biggest stage in the sport.
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