Report: ‘Little traction’ in A’s-Guardians Murphy trade talks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Now that Frankie Montas is on his way out of Oakland, could the Athletics be looking to trade another one of their stars?
Sean Murphy and his Gold Glove might be safe for now, according to the latest report.
The 27-year-old catcher has garnered plenty of interest from MLB teams ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, but as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported last Sunday, the A’s would need to be “overwhelmed” by an offer to deal him.
That doesn’t bode well for the Cleveland Guardians, who have discussed a trade for Murphy with Oakland, The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported Sunday, citing sources.
Those talks “hadn’t gained a lot of traction” as of Sunday morning, per Meisel, because the A’s aren’t in a rush to get rid of Murphy just yet.
“Oakland’s claim?” Meisel wrote. “It can just hang on to Murphy, who is under team control for another three and a half years, until the offseason and deal him in a more populated market.”
There’s certainly no need to hurry on the A’s side of things, especially with Triple-A catching prospect Shea Langeliers, acquired by Oakland in the Matt Olson trade, waiting in the wings.
Langeliers is slashing .277/.361/.522 in Triple-A this season with 19 home runs and 51 RBI. He was recently named MVP of the MLB Futures Game, and having him available to step in behind the plate certainly gives the A’s more incentive to move on from Murphy and gain something in return.
And for Cleveland, Murphy could be worth parting ways with their organization’s top three prospects.
Meisel notes that if the Guardians were to put together a package good enough to entice Oakland now, it could include right-hander Daniel Espino, outfielder George Valera and right-hander Gavin Williams.
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The three are ranked No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the Guardian’s top prospect list by MLB.com.
But the A’s have the advantage in these reported negotiations, with all the time in the world to wait for the best Murphy offer other teams can muster. Still, the Guardians are one team with a farm system capable of meeting Oakland’s high asking price.
And even though talks between the two clubs are reportedly stalled, anything can happen between now and Tuesday’s 3 pm PT trade deadline.