Perhaps the biggest winner of Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin’s NL Rookie of the Year victory isn’t Baldwin himself, but teammate and fellow backstop Sean Murphy. The 31-year-old Murphy has three guaranteed seasons, all with a $15 million salary, remaining on his contract, and Baldwin’s emergence has made the 2023 NL All-Star expendable.
Murphy struggled mightily this past season, batting .199 with 16 homers, 45 RBIs, and a below-average .709 OPS. His defense allowed him to provide the Braves with 2.4 bWAR, though his days as Atlanta’s starting catcher are long gone. Unless Baldwin suffers a season-ending injury this offseason, there is zero reason for the Braves to keep Murphy around when they can find a team willing to take on his contract and fill their own need at catcher.
Luckily for Murphy, there are several teams with legitimate World Series aspirations who can afford to upgrade at catcher this winter. Murphy might not be the top choice for some teams, especially if the Philadelphia Phillies don’t re-sign J.T. Realmuto, but he’s nonetheless worth inquiring about — and even more so if the Braves will eat some of his contract.
For this list, we’ve listed teams alphabetically for ease, and as always, we’re only focusing on teams we believe are realistic candidates to trade for Murphy. In fact, let’s start with a club that knows Murphy all too well.
Honorable mention: Philadelphia Phillies
On the one hand, the Phillies desperately need a catcher if Realmuto departs in free agency. However, we’re skeptical that the Braves would even consider trading Murphy to the Phillies, especially considering that both intend to compete for a division title next year. This isn’t an instance of a team trading within the division as they enter a rebuild, as the Marlins did when they traded Realmuto to the Phillies in 2019, nor is it a deadline deal involving a rental.
That’s not to say that the Phillies shouldn’t at least try to trade for Murphy. Who’s to say that the Braves wouldn’t consider such a move for the right price? With that said, we don’t see Murphy playing for the Phillies on Opening Day. Now, if the Phillies do want to try trading for a starting catcher, perhaps they should call the Yankees about Austin Wells or Ben Rice.
Boston Red Sox
Carlos Narváez emerged as one of the Red Sox’s feel-good stories in 2025, hitting .241 with 15 home runs, 27 doubles, and a .726 OPS after arriving via a minor trade with the rival New York Yankees. Narváez offers some pop, and his 8.5% walk rate is right in line with the league average 8.4%.
Murphy is indisputably an upgrade over Narváez, though, and the Red Sox need as many impactful players as possible if they’re to challenge the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees for the AL East crown. The only potential issue here is that the Red Sox gave up several top prospects for Chicago White Sox ace Garret Crochet last offseason, and they didn’t get much in return when they dealt Rafael Devers to San Francisco. Still, the Red Sox have enough talented young players to make a deal work, though we’d be interested to see if Boston must give up Narváez in the process.
Houston Astros
The days of the Astros having a stranglehold over the American League West appear over, especially after Houston missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. There is no reason to believe the Astros view 2026 as a transitional year, even as the Jose Altuve era inches closer to an end. Trading for Muprhy would reiterate the Astros are ready to join the Red Sox (2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018), Giants (2010, 2012, and 2014), and the Dodgers (2020, 2024, and 2025) among the teams to win three World Series titles this century.
Although the Astros used a 2024 first-round pick on Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek, he saw significant time as a DH at High-A Asheville. MLB Pipeline estimates Janek will debut in 2027, and that alone could motivate the Astros to make a play for Murphy. Alternatively, Houston could re-sign veteran backstop Victor Caratini, who hit a career-high 12 homers with an above-average .728 OPS in nearly 400 at-bats.
Kansas City Royals
But wait, you say. The Royals just re-signed longtime catcher Salvador Perez, who has quietly become one of the greatest players in franchise history, to a two-year extension through 2027. Yes, they did, but Perez turns 36 next May, and the time might be nearing where Kansas City gradually makes him a full-time DH.
None of that is a negative indictment on Perez, who totaled 30 homers, 35 doubles, and 100 RBIs this season. However, Perez’s walk rate plummeted from 6.7% to 4.4%, and he’s had at least 580 plate appearances in four of the last five years. That’s a significant workload for a veteran catcher, and it’s even more reason why the Royals should explore giving him more action at DH and first base. Trading for Murphy would allow the Royals to accelerate that process and give them another capable bat who can help them finish atop a winnable AL Central.
Then again, the Royals’ No. 1 prospect, catcher Carter Jensen, hit .300 with a .941 OPS in 69 MLB plate appearances. We’ll nonetheless keep the Royals here as a dark horse candidate.
St. Louis Cardinals
Although Pedro Pagés has flashed offensively, he’s struck out 165 times against 32 walks in over 600 MLB plate appearances. It’s hard for us to feel optimistic about his offensive potential as a long-term starting catcher, and the Cardinals should definitely explore an upgrade this offseason. If Pagés’ ceiling is as a backup, so be it, but the Cardinals shouldn’t go into 2026 planning on him starting.
That opens the door for the Cardinals to trade for Murphy. MLB Pipeline lists three catchers among the Cardinals’ top-10 prospects: Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 3), Leonardo Bernal (No. 4), and Jimmy Crooks (No. 6). Although Rodriguez briefly played at High-A Peoria, he turns 19 in January. Crooks made his MLB debut in August and subsequently went 6-for-45, while Bernal appears likely to start next year at Double-A Springfield or Triple-A Memphis. Braves fans might not like the idea of trading Murphy to another National League team, but the Cardinals absolutely make sense.