Cardinals Rumors: Here is what Oakland is asking for Sean Murphy

Sep 20, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) hits an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) hits an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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Oakland is reportedly asking for major league players in a Sean Murphy trade

The St. Louis Cardinals made a lot of news during Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, and Day 3 is shaping up to be an eventful day for the club. Their number one target, Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, is being pursued by teams like the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays, among other teams, making the asking price very high for the catcher.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required), Oakland has a very strong asking price for their catcher.

The Athletics are seeking major leaguers rather than prospects for Sean Murphy, and telling interested clubs they will keep the catcher if they do not receive a satisfactory trade offer.

Murphy, who is 28-years old, has multiple years of team control remaining and will provide the Cardinals with one of the best catchers in baseball. Murphy is one of the few catchers in the game today who can mash at the plate and provide elite defense as a backstop, all while starting the majority of the team’s games at catcher. You just cannot find guys like him in today’s game.

What Oakland’s reported asking price means for the Cardinals is that guys like Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Dylan Carlson will be at the top of Oakland’s wish list, rather than the likes of Masyn Winn or Gordon Graceffo. Names like Matthew Liberatore, Juan Yepez, Jake Woodford, Ivan Herrera, Zach Thompson, and Andre Pallante would be interesting names to watch as well, as they have already seen time in the major leagues.

That begs the question, what could the Cardinals offer look like with this asking price? I made the case for why Murphy is far and away the best option for St. Louis a few days ago, and in that piece, I speculated that a deal of 2B/3B Nolan Gorman, RHP Gordon Graceffo (club’s number 7 prospect according to Baseball America’s new rankings from this week), and outfield prospect Joshua Baez could get the deal done for the Cardinals.

Here is what I think an offer for Murphy could look like under the new reported asking price from Oakland.

May 14, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) catches a throw to record a force out against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (12) catches a throw to record a force out against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

What could the Cardinals’ offer look like?

In any trade, I think the two most logical centerpieces would be Nolan Gorman or Lars Nootbaar. So, let me put together a trade that is filled with “MLB-ready” talent with that in mind.

This is a really strong offer. The Cardinals would be giving up a guy who was their number two prospect last season in Gorman or a breakout performer in Nootbaar, and then their #4 and #6 prospects in what is a top heavy farm system. Maybe this offer is a bit more than they actually need to give, but with how much competition there is for Murphy, I think this is what we are talking now.

My previous proposal, which seemed to match what the industry was thinking, had Gorman as the centerpiece and another strong prospect in Graceffo, but the major difference here is that the Cardinals would be upgrading the third prospect that they trade. This would really thin out their farm system, as after their first nine prospects, outlets like Baseball America believe their system drops off and lacks the depth of other good farm systems.

Could the deal instead swap out one of Burleson or Liberatore for a mixture of Yepez, Woodford, Pallante, or Thompson? Sure. But I genuinely think it’s going to take a haul to get Murphy now with this market.

But that is the price you pay when you are navigating the kinds of waters that St. Louis is. It will be interesting to see whether or not the Cardinals or another club pull of this trade before the Winter Meetings are over.

Next. Murphy should be the Cardinals number one target. dark

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