May 29, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy (12) runs the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
23 years after the Phillies traded Johnny Estrada to the Atlanta Braves for Kevin Millwood, could the two NL East rivals combine for another trade of a catcher?
With Drake Baldwin taking home NL Rookie of the Year, Sean Murphy feels particularly expendable for a Braves team trying to rebound from a disappointing 2025 campaign. As rare as Phillies-Braves trades are, making a move for Murphy is at least worth considering as the Phillies plot how to proceed at catcher. J.T. Realmuto is a free agent, and while returning for an eighth season with the Phillies still seems to be the most likely outcome, he's going to turn 35 in February, has seen noticeable slippage in certain aspects of his game and is reportedly drawing interest from the Boston Red Sox. Even if the Phillies do wind up circling back to Realmuto, it would behoove them to at least see what else is out there.
Murphy is an interesting player because injuries have limited him to just 166 games over the last two seasons combined, a period in which he's hit just .197.
While that doesn't sound attractive, Murphy has posted 14 defensive runs saved over the last two seasons. He has a fielding run value — a metric that combines throwing, blocking, framing, arm and range — of six over that span.
Since the start of the 2024 season, Realmuto, a two-time Gold Glover, has minus-2 defensive runs saved. His framing run value over the past two seasons has been minus-12.
Additionally, Murphy has hit 26 home runs and driven in 70 runs in 524 at-bats over the past two seasons.
Realmuto has 26 home runs and 99 RBIs in 882 at-bats since the start of the 2024 season.
Over on Bleacher Report, I projected that Realmuto will sign a three-year/$45 million deal this offseason. Most outlets have the three-time All-Star in that range this offseason given the lack of talent at the catcher position around the sport.
Murphy, meanwhile, is due ... $45 million over the next three seasons. His deal also includes a $15 million club option for 2029. However, because he's in the midst of a six-year/$73 million deal, he would be slightly cheaper when accounting for the luxury tax threshold because that takes his average annual value of $12.2, as opposed to what would be a $15 million AAV if Realmuto signs for what I've projected.
At the height of his powers, Realmuto was the best catcher in baseball. With that said, Murphy's 14.2 WAR was the top mark among all catchers from 2021-2023, edging out Realmuto's 13.7, per FanGraphs. Perhaps neither will get back to their peaks, but Murphy is going to play next season at 31, four years younger than Realmuto. If you were going to bet on one of the two being more likely to have a renaissance, it would probably be Murphy.
Where Realmuto still clearly stands above Murphy is in his ability to take on a heavy workload. Realmuto caught 1,151 1/3 innings in 2025, the seventh season of 1,000 innings caught in his career. The only time Murphy has ever topped 1,000 innings came in 2022, when he logged 1,004 frames for the then-Oakland Athletics. (To be fair, the Braves were able to manage Murphy's workload in 2023 and 2024 because they had so much trust in Travis d'Arnaud, and then in 2025 because of Baldwin's emergence.)
It is fair to wonder how many more years Realmuto can keep up this type of workload — or if it's even good for him — but we said the same thing five years ago. Realmuto has been a workhorse since joining the Phillies in 2019, and if he's not back in 2026, there likely won't be anyone who comes close to catching that many innings. One way or another, Rafael Marchán's role will likely increase if Realmuto doesn't re-sign with the Phillies this offseason.
Trying to figure out what it would cost to acquire Murphy is an interesting exercise. He hasn't been particularly good offensively or healthy the past two seasons, making $45 million a decent chunk to commit to him. But don't think that this is a chance for the Phillies to swap one of their undesirable contracts like Nick Castellanos or Taijuan Walker. The Braves might have to eat a few million and/or take a lesser return to move Murphy, but he's still very much a tradable asset with so many teams looking for above-average catching.
Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos may prefer to trade Murphy out of the NL East. The Phillies might be scared off by Murphy's last two seasons, and/or more interested in Realmuto. At the very least, though, Murphy is a name that should be discussed while trying to determine whether Realmuto fits in the future plans.
