3 Most Likely Landing Spots for Sean Murphy at the Deadline

The MLB trade deadline is less than a week away and one selling team to watch is the Oakland Athletics. The A's have several players that will draw interest in the coming days, including veteran catcher Sean Murphy, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Murphy is one of the better offensive backstops in the Majors, racking up 11 home runs and 40 RBIs while slashing .245/.320/.428 in 88 games. He's also under team control for the next three seasons before becoming a free agent in 2026, proving that he has more value than a one-year rental.

With no shortage of suitors out there, here's a look at the three most likely landing spots for Murphy ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Sean Murphy Trade Destinations

1. New York Mets

The New York Mets are expected to be one of the more active teams over the next week or so. Tomás Nido hasn't been providing much offense from the catcher position, recording 16 RBIs without a home run while batting .213 in 174 at-bats. It isn't like Patrick Mazeika and James McCann have done much either. Bringing Murphy in would provide a serious upgrade to the catcher room, providing another talented bat to the Mets' order. The fact that he's under team control until 2026 makes him an even more attractive option as New York plans to be competitive for the foreseeable future.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

The 2022 season will be Yadier Molina's last in the MLB, leaving the St. Louis Cardinals' catcher situation in limbo in 2023 and beyond. Andrew Knizner has filled in behind home plate in 50 starts this year, but his one home run and .204 batting average just aren't cutting it. Molina hasn't been much better when healthy, either. With Murphy, the Cardinals would suddenly have a viable Molina replacement for the next several years. Even though Murphy turns 28 in October, he only has 270 games under his belt and possibly has his best baseball days ahead of him. With the prospects in the Cardinals' cupboard, landing the Athletics' catcher is a realistic scenario.

3. Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins acquired veteran C Jacob Stallings from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade back in November. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to replicate last season's success behind the plate, going from eight HRs and 53 RBIs while batting .246 in 2021 to two HRs and 22 RBIs with a .186 BA in 74 games this season. Even though the 32-year-old is arbitration-eligible until 2025, it's hard to imagine Stallings getting much better. Murphy is an upgrade under him while having one more year under team control as well. Considering that the Marlins need all the help they can to erase the eight games that separate them from the final NL playoff spot and it's easy to see why pursuing Murphy would be the right call.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.