The Cardinals have been linked to Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy as a potential trade target.
Would this trade by the St. Louis Cardinals for Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy work?
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The St. Louis Cardinals are interested in upgrading at catcher this offseason, and Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy has been mentioned as a potential trade target on numerous occasions.
With that in mind, ESPN’s David Schoenfield proposed a trade between the Cardinals and the A’s in which St. Louis would receive Murphy, but is the price too high?
In this ESPN+ article detailing eight trades Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle would like to see happen during the MLB Winter Meetings, Schoenfield proposed a one-for-one trade in which St. Louis would receive Murphy and the A’s would receive Nolan Gorman.
A one-for-one trade would benefit both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland A’s.
One of the most valuable assets Murphy will bring to any team (including the Cardinals) is three more years of team control, which means Murphy will be the backstop of the future wherever he ends up.
If St. Louis sends Gorman to Oakland, the A’s will have an infielder with MLB experience for the foreseeable future, as the 22-year-old Gorman will not be a free agent until the 2029 season.
Gorman slashed his wrist 226/.300/.420, indicating plenty of room for improvement at the plate, and 14 home runs in 283 at-bats hint at the potential power he could bring to Oakland.
Those 14 homers tied for fourth-most on the Cardinals last season, and Schoenfield believes the A’s could move Gorman back to third base, where he was blocked by Nolan Arenado in St. Louis.
If the Cardinals do sign a shortstop (with rumors circulating that they could be a fall-back option for Dansby Swanson if the Atlanta Braves are unable to retain him), St. Louis can keep Tommy Edman at second base, leaving Gorman without a position.
A trade to Oakland would make sense in that scenario. Murphy, on the other hand, is in high demand, so the Cardinals may not have the luxury of waiting to see where the free agent shortstop dominoes fall before making a move.
