This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman's Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ATLANTA -- Sean Murphy¡¯s bid to reclaim his status as one of the best catchers in baseball, if not the best, has started in impressive fashion.
Despite missing the first nine games of a season that has included just 24 games thus far, Murphy ranks second among MLB catchers with six home runs.
Before Phil Niekro¡¯s knuckleball and a few errant throws made Dale Murphy an outfielder, he was the only Braves player to hit five homers through his first 12 games of a season as a catcher, doing so in 1979. William Contreras topped that mark in 2022, when he homered six times over his first 12 games played as a catcher. With Travis d¡¯Arnaud serving as the primary catcher that year, Contreras¡¯ first 12 appearances as a catcher spanned from April 9 to June 3.
Now Murphy has matched Contreras because it had been far too long since these two were linked in conversation. Murphy¡¯s revival has at least quieted talk about the ¡°Contreras trade¡± being the worst in Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos¡¯ career.
While Murphy was enduring the career-worst season that unfolded after he missed two months with the left oblique strain he suffered on Opening Day in 2024, Contreras was establishing himself as the game¡¯s top catcher. He ranked No. 1 at the position when MLB Network revealed its rankings this winter.
This certainly wasn¡¯t envisioned on Dec. 12, 2022, when the Braves acquired Murphy from the A¡¯s in a three-team deal that sent Contreras to the Brewers. The initial thought was that Atlanta gained one of baseball¡¯s most complete catchers and parted ways with a defensive liability who might enjoy a couple of 30-homer seasons.
It wasn¡¯t just some Braves pitchers who complained about Contreras¡¯ catching abilities. Veteran position players voiced the same concerns. It¡¯s a credit to the Brewers for helping him become more than just a hitter who dons the catching gear. Contreras currently ranks first among all catchers with a +3 Fielding Run Value, but he had a below average -1 mark over the entirety of the 2024 season.
As for Murphy, he and Phillies backstop J.T. Realmuto led all MLB catchers with the identical 13.4 fWAR they produced from 2021-23. Still just 30 years old, Murphy has the capability to be that same highly productive catcher for a few more years.
Murphy has seemingly benefited from the sports glasses he recently started wearing to fix an astigmatism. At the same time, he never got comfortable after the oblique injury and ended up producing a .636 OPS in 2024. Was he tentative because he was concerned about aggravating the oblique?
Murphy has never said that. But since a pitch fractured a left rib on Feb. 28, he has repeatedly said returning from a broken bone is far different from distancing yourself from a soft tissue injury. There¡¯s no lingering concern once that bone heals.
Even though he missed most of the season¡¯s first two weeks, Murphy is tied for seventh among catchers (minimum 50 plate appearances) with a 0.5 fWAR. Contreras entered Thursday with a 0.7 fWAR with 50 more plate appearances.
These two will always be linked. But for Murphy, it¡¯s not about being better than Contreras. It¡¯s about proving he¡¯s still as good as it gets among catchers.