Another piece of the Atlanta Braves‘ core is sticking around for the long haul.
The Braves announced Tuesday the signing of catcher Sean Murphy to a six-year, $73-million extension. The agreement, which delays his eventual free agency by at least two years, also includes a $15-million club option for 2029 with no buyout.
Murphy signed his extension less than a month after Atlanta acquired him from the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade. He continues a trend of Braves stars forgoing arbitration and free agency in favor of signing a long-term deal with the club that began after general manager Alex Anthopoulos took over in 2018.
Braves long-term extensions since 2018
| Player | Contract | Earliest FA |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 8 Year-$100M | 2028 |
| Ozzie Albies | 7 Year-$35M | 2027 |
| Michael Harris II | 8 Year-$72M | 2032 |
| Sean Murphy | 6 Year-$73M | 2029 |
| Matt Olson | 8 Year-$168M | 2030 |
| Austin Riley | 10 Year-$212M | 2033 |
| Spencer Strider | 6 Year-$75M | 2029 |
The 28-year-old broke out as one of the best catchers in the American League last season, hitting .250/.332/.426 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs across 148 games with Oakland. He also continued to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense behind the plate, ranking fifth in pop time to second base and sixth in catcher framing runs. Murphy’s 5.1 WAR ranked second in the majors among qualified catchers, behind only J.T. Realmuto.
Going forward, Murphy slots in as the Braves’ long-term solution behind the plate. He’ll likely share the load at both catcher and DH with Travis d’Arnaud in 2023, an arrangement similar to what Atlanta did last campaign with d’Arnaud and William Contreras.
Murphy is a lifetime .236/.326/.429 hitter with 46 home runs and 147 RBIs across parts of four seasons in the major leagues. The native of Peekskill, New York, finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020 and won a Gold Glove in 2021.
