A pair of the best players in the catcher position for 2022 were involved in a huge trade on Monday. In the three-team trade involving the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics, Sean Murphy was the most well-known player.
The role of a catcher is by far the weakest position in fantasy baseball; its.663 aggregate OPS last year was 25 points lower than the next-lowest, centre field (.688); therefore, anytime a notable backstop changes teams, it might be a significant story for our needs.
Sean Murphy and William Contreras
He had the fourth-most fantasy points (295) among catchers and was ranked seventh at the position on our Player Rater. William Contreras, the sixth-ranked catcher on the Player Rater, may actually gain more from the deal if he is included. His average of 2.3 fantasy points per game was fifth-best among catchers who played in at least 50% of their teams’ games.
Interestingly, Travis d’Arnaud, the catcher who finished between these two on our Player Rater and received the eighth-most points (237), is still in Atlanta and will presumably now fill in as Murphy’s backup.
One of the best players at preventing base stealers, Murphy is one of the most complete catchers in baseball. He has consistently had at least 10.5% Barrel and 41.4% hard-hit rates over the course of the past three seasons, according to Statcast. In each of the previous two seasons, he ranked among the top 10 pitchers in pitch framing.
While Murphy’s playing time will likely be reduced by d’Arnaud more than it was by Austin Allen, Christian Bethancourt, Shea Langeliers, or Stephen Vogt in Oakland, Murphy is likely to have game and plate appearance totals that are closer to those of 2022 (148 and 612) than 2021 (119 and 448), taking into account his abilities and a better health history.
Murphy’s fantasy chances will benefit from leaving the Oakland Coliseum, one of baseball’s most pitching-friendly parks, and playing at Atlanta’s Truist Park, which, according to Statcast, was neutral to somewhat hitting-friendly for right-handed batters in the previous three seasons.
The move from the struggling Athletics lineup, which finished last season as baseball’s second-worst lineup (3.51 runs per game), to the Braves’ potent order (third-best 4.87 runs per game), could, more importantly, compensate for any significant loss in plate appearances caused by d’Arnaud’s presence.
In addition to the increase in RBI opportunities if Murphy bats sixth or seventh in the order, keep in mind that better lineups turnover more frequently (1.35 more PAs per game on average for the Braves).
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