Alex Anthopoulos W: No one wants the centerpiece of the Braves Sean Murphy trade

Losses are far more rare than wins for Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Since taking the helm of the front office, the club has won a World Series and has consistently made one winning move after another, even if that might be a tad difficult to remember right now with the club currently fighting for their playoff lives in the NL Wild Card race.

One of his biggest wins in recent memory, though, came last offseason when he completed his second blockbuster with the Oakland Athletics in as many years, this time bringing in the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a three-team swap that brough catcher Sean Murphy to the Braves. But as time has gone on, the move has only continued to look better for Anthopoulos.

Most recently, the A's elected to designate left-handed reliever Kyle Muller for assignment. Muller was the former top prospect for the Braves and the centerpiece of the trade to get Murphy who, incidentally, has been an All-Star caliber catcher for most of the time when he's been healthy for Atlanta. But the DFA was only the beginning of this deal becoming a bigger win for the Bravos.

Braves trade for Sean Murphy only looks better for Alex Anthopoulos

Not only did Oakland -- a team, it should be noted, that remains one of the worst in baseball -- not want Muller on the MLB roster, neither did any other team in the majors.

After being DFA'd, Muller cleared waivers as no other team claimed him once he was made available, essentially saying that the Braves got one of the better catchers in the big leagues for a pitcher who, just over 1.5 years later, no MLB team wants on the roster. That's highway robbery on Atlanta's part and Anthopoulos may has well be Jesse James.

Now, to be sure, Murphy has been part of the Braves' offensive struggles this season along with missing a large portion of the year after going down in the season-opener with an injury. He's posted just a .710 OPS on the year, only slightly better than league average, though he has still been a stalwart defensively, an immense part of his value to the club.

But the fact that the Braves still maintain Murphy as an everyday catching option while Muller is being pushed aside by the majors speaks volumes to the savviness of Anthopoulos and the Atlanta front office. Of course, William Contreras, who the Braves sent to Milwaukee in the trade, has been a stud in his own right, so it's not a complete victory lap that AA can take. But if he raised his fist in the air in celebration of his own feats after seeing the Muller news, no one could ultimately fault him.