Here’s how Red Sox can benefit from Braves-Sean Murphy trade

Just as the chaos of MLB Winter Meetings began to drop from a rolling boil to a low simmer, the Oakland A’s traded catcher Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves.

Jeff Passan broke the news on Monday. It’s a three-team trade, and much like an old episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, each club is getting a

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catcher: the Braves get Murphy, Milwaukee Brewers get William Contreras (Willson Contreras’ brother) and A’s get Manny Piña. Here’s the full trade breakdown:

Should Red Sox target Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud after Sean Murphy trade?

Murphy was a Red Sox target (isn’t everyone?), but they had competition from several other teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros.

Still, this could work in Boston’s favor, in that the Braves could very well try to unload Travis d’Arnaud now that they have Murphy. Earlier this month, Chaim Bloom revealed that the Sox are trying to upgrade their catching. The club currently has catchers Reese McGuire (first-year arbitration) and Connor Wong (not arb-eligible until 2026) under club control for several years but would be willing to include one of them in a trade in order to improve the position.

d’Arnaud is in the final year of a two-year, $16M contract that includes a club option for 2024. He’ll turn 34 in February and just finished his 10th year in the majors. He’s a career .252/.312/.428 hitter, who won a Silver Slugger during the shortened 2020 season and was an All-Star in 2022. He would offer the Sox some bat power, as he just hit 18 home runs in 107 games this year; the only Boston player with more than 16 was Rafael Devers, who hit 27.

However, d’Arnaud spent the bulk of his career in part-time roles; only four times has he played more than 100 games, and never more than 112. With the exception of 92 games with the Rays in 2019, he’s spent his entire career in the National League, first with the New York Mets, then one game with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now, the Braves.

The Sox have also been linked to longtime backstop Christian Vázquez, and former Rays catcher Mike Zunino, who is currently a free agent.

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