Brewers Rumors: 5 Trade Targets For The Crew At The 2022 Winter Meetings

Brewers Winter Meetings Trade Target #4: Athletics C Sean Murphy

The trade market for catchers has a couple of options for the Brewers (and other teams) to choose from. We talked about Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen earlier, but another intriguing trade candidate is Sean Murphy of the Oakland A's.

Murphy has three years of team control remaining and is projected to earn just $3.5MM in 2023. He's coming off a season in which he hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 homers, a 122 wRC+, and a 5.1 fWAR. Yeah, that'll play for Milwaukee. That'll play for anybody.

As much as fans complain about the Brewers payroll restrictions, at least we aren't Oakland. Their payroll is projected to be just $35MM for 2023 right now and Murphy is one of their highest paid guys. Yet they're looking to trade him this winter.

Oakland will want prospects, as usual. The Brewers have a number of players who could be of interest to the A's. It's going to cost quite a bit in prospect capital, but just like Alejandro Kirk, the Brewers have the ability to pay that price if they want to. Whether or not they want to pay the prospect price is a different story. Still, the market is strong for Murphy and this team would massively benefit from having him on their roster.

Murphy has improved every season in his career and he just turned 28 years old, he's right in his prime and ready to help a contender right now. His defensive excellence will also be of high value to the Brewers, who place a premium on that with their catchers. With his market heating up and teams ready to make deals, look for Murphy to potentially be on the move at the Winter Meetings.