Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy is hitting cleanup again for the team on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Luis Cessa. Murphy has earned another day in the cleanup spot after going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk-off home run out of the spot against the Reds on Monday. The 28-year-old will be a popular DFS catcher while he's swinging a hot bat and in the cleanup spot in Atlanta's batting order. Early on in his first year with the Braves, Murphy has gone 6-for-25 (.240) with three doubles, a home run, five RBI and two runs scored in eight games played. He's also walked (eight times) more than he has struck out (six times).

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy (rest) is out of the starting lineup for Monday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. This is the second day in four games that Murphy has sat out. The expectation is that Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud are going to split up the playing time at the catcher spot. It's assumed that one of them will serve as the designated hitter at times, while the other does the catching. That being said, fantasy managers shouldn't panic that Murphy is getting extra rest to begin the season. On Monday, d'Arnaud will bat cleanup and serve as the catcher against right-hander Jake Woodford.

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy is absent from the lineup on Saturday against the Washington Nationals. Travis d'Arnaud is sliding in behind the plate while Marcell Ozuna shifts from left field to designated hitter. Murphy went 0-for-5 in his Braves' debut on Thursday but he should be back behind the dish on Sunday for the series finale against the Nats.

The Atlanta Braves signed catcher Sean Murphy to a six-year, $76 million contract extension on Tuesday. The deal includes a $15 million team option for the 2029 season. The Braves locked Murphy up for the long haul after acquiring him in a trade from the Oakland Athletics just a few weeks ago. The 28-year-old was regarded as one of the better defensive catchers in the league before last season (his fourth with the A's), when he slashed .250/.332/.426 with a .759 OPS, a career-high 18 home runs, 66 RBI, 67 runs scored and a stolen base in 612 plate appearances and 148 games. Murphy has quickly become one of the best all-around catchers in baseball and will receive a big fantasy boost at a scarce position with his move to a much better team in the Braves.

The Atlanta Braves acquired catcher Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics on Monday as part of a three-way trade that also involves the Milwaukee Brewers, according to sources. One of the players heading to Milwaukee is catcher William Contreras. The A's are receiving backstop Manny Pina from the Brewers. Murphy was more known for his defensive skills heading into the 2022 season, but that didn't stop him from finishing as the fifth-best catcher in fantasy. The 28-year-old slashed .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI, 67 runs scored and one stolen base in 537 at-bats in Oakland. Murphy will be Atlanta's primary catcher and will have even more fantasy upside with a much better team, while veteran Travis d'Arnaud will be the backup and could see more time as the designated hitter.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are among the teams talking with the Oakland Athletics about possibly trading for catcher Sean Murphy, according to sources. It comes as somewhat of a surprising, considering they already have Carson Kelly at the position. Murphy slashed .250/.332/.426 and was among the most valuable all-around backstops in the big leagues in 2022. He's been a very popular trade asset with three seasons of club control remaining, with at least eight other teams having been publicly linked to him. General manager Mike Hazen is willing to part with one of the team's young outfielders, and Hazen is also open to trading younger prospects further away from the majors. Kelly hit just .211 overall last year and has been up-and-down at the plate in his four years in Arizona.

The Chicago Cubs are one of the teams who have talked to the Oakland Athletics about trading for catcher Sean Murphy, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Monday. The 28-year-old had a strong season both behind the plate and with the bat, slashing .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI. The Cubs are currently without a starting backstop, and while they have spent the last seven seasons with Willson Contreras filling that role, the potential availability of Murphy as well as the Blue Jay's Danny Jansen appear to be appealing options for the Cubs to investigate.

The St. Louis Cardinals could very well trade for a catcher this offseason, and Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is atop their list, according to two sources. Murphy has been front and center in trade talks early in the offseason, and he could end up being moved at this week's Winter Meetings in San Diego. The Cardinals need a new catcher with Yadier Molina retiring, and the up-and-coming Murphy would be an excellent addition to an already strong offensive lineup in St. Louis. The 28-year-old backstop clubbed 18 home runs and had a .759 OPS for a bad A's team in 2022. Making him even more attractive, he's under club control through the 2025 campaign.

The Oakland Athletics appear close to trading catcher Sean Murphy, but the Atlanta Braves won't be the team to land him, according to a source. The St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox are among the teams that have been connected to Murphy in recent weeks. The Braves were once considered the front-runners for Murphy, but that's not the case now, and they still have Travis d'Arnaud and William Contreras on the active roster. Murphy, 28, is one of the best up-and-coming catchers in baseball both offensively and defensively. He finished his fourth big-league season in 2022 by hitting .250/.332/.426 with a career-high 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 67 runs scored in 612 plate appearances and 148 games. Murphy has clubbed 35 home runs in the last two years.

The Cleveland Guardians are among the most active suitors for Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, the 2021 Gold Glove winner who could be dealt by the end of next week's winter meetings, according to sources. Murphy has proven to be an above-average hitting catcher in three-plus big-league seasons and is attractive to any team seeking catching help this offseason. In a career-high 612 plate appearances in 2022, he slashed .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and a career-low 20.3 percent strikeout rate. A trade away from the pitcher-friendly park in Oakland and to a better all-around offense should make Murphy even more attractive in fantasy in 2023. If the A's move Murphy this offseason, it would open up playing time for top catching prospect Shea Langeliers.

The Tampa Bay Rays are among several teams showing interest in trading for Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, a Gold Glove winner in 2021 with three years of control before he reaches free agency, according to sources. The Rays, as usual, are taking both buyer and seller approaches to the offseason market. The Chicago White Sox are another team showing interest in Murphy, who is coming off his best offensive performance over a full season in the big leagues. The 28-year-old hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI, 67 runs scored and a stolen base in 537 at-bats. His offensive and defensive skills behind the dish make him attractive, especially since he's under team control through the 2025 season. A move to a contending team would also make Murphy more attractive in fantasy.

Oakland Athletics general manager David Forst said Tuesday that catcher Sean Murphy was mentioned numerous times during Day 1 of MLB's General Managers Meetings, per MLB's Martin Gallegos. Forst said, "He's obviously a popular topic of discussion when I talk to other clubs". The 28-year-old is under the team's control through the 2025 season and contributed both defensively and offensively in 2022, finishing as a finalist for the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. However, the A's have considerable depth at catcher, including Shea Langeliers and prospects Tyler Soderstrom and Daniel Susac. From a fantasy perspective, Murphy would be better positioned to help fantasy managers hitting in most other lineups.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, run scored and two strikeouts in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Houston Astros. Murphy is quickly becoming one of the better hitting catchers in the big leagues, as he currently sports a .253/.333/.443 slash line with 18 home runs, 33 doubles, 64 RBI, 61 runs scored and a stolen base in 479 at-bats over 132 games. He's been a bit cold in the month of September so far (.204 average with a homer and six RBI), but fantasy managers should keep riding him in their starting lineups the rest of the way. Murphy has gone 7-for-24 (.292) in his last six contests.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy remained with the club past the trade deadline, and he rewarded that decision by going deep off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani in a 3-1 victory. He went 2-for-4 with three RBI in the game. Murphy now has a .757 OPS with 13 homers this year, but given that he is likely the best remaining player on the roster, he doesn't figure to have much opportunity for counting stats going forward and remains a borderline fantasy option behind the plate.

The Cleveland Guardians and Oakland Athletics have discussed catcher Sean Murphy, according to sources. However, the talks hadn't gained much traction as of Sunday morning. The A's can hang onto Murphy, who is under team control for another three and a half years, until the offseason and deal him in a much better market. Oakland has highly regarded prospect Shea Langeliers waiting at Triple-A. Cleveland needs an offensive jolt at catcher, and Murphy is an above-average hitter and a Gold Glove winner. The A's could use outfield and high-end starting pitching prospects, but the Guardians might be more inclined to tap into their surplus of middle-infield prospects. Murphy is currently hitting .238/.314/.423 with 12 home runs, 41 RBI, 43 runs scored and a stolen base in 336 at-bats for the A's.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy isn't in the team's lineup on Wednesday for a matchup with the Houston Astros and right-handed starter Cristian Javier. Murphy has been one of Oakland's best position players so far this season, batting .244 with a .322 on-base percentage, 11 home runs, and a stolen base in 368 plate appearances. Instead, the A's will start Stephen Vogt behind the plate against Javier and the Astros. The veteran is hitting sixth on Wednesday. For the season, Vogt is batting .46 with a .215 on-base percentage and four home runs in 93 plate appearances. Fantasy managers in search of streaming help are probably better off looking elsewhere.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy blasted his 10th homer of the season on Thursday, helping his club defeat the Tigers 5-0. Murphy broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth inning by crushing a 447' three-run bomb off starter Garrett Hill in the second game of a doubleheader. The 27-year-old was beginning to heat up prior to the All-Star break with eight hits in his previous five games, giving him a .239/.309/.414 slash line through 85 games. Murphy's 39 RBI and 37 runs are providing enough value in roto formats to keep him fantasy relevant, however, so you could do much worse at the thin catching position.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins. The young backstop is having a rough year in the batting average department, hitting .200 with a 30.8 strikeout rate. However, the power is still there, as he's slugging .421 with four home runs in 25 games. Backup Christian Bethancourt will do the catching duties instead and bat sixth. The 30-year-old is struggling this season, slashing .205/.262/.308 with no home runs and a stolen base. Fantasy managers looking for a catcher on the waiver wire should not even consider picking up Bethancourt.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy (rest) isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. This appears to be a routine day off for Murphy who started 20 straight games. The 27-year-old is hitting .218/.262/.487 with four home runs and 14 RBI this season. He only has two hits over his last 20 at-bats, so hopefully a day off will help him. Austin Allen will cover behind home plate and bat sixth versus righty Shane Bieber. Fantasy managers can ignore Allen as a streaming option for Saturday.

Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy went 1-for-3 in a start versus the Mariners on Wednesday. The sophomore backstop came into the season as the A's starter, but Oakland traded for Yan Gomes at the trade deadline and Murphy has seen his playing time evaporate. For most of August, Gomes and Murphy were splitting catcher reps nearly 50/50, but Gomes has seen the lion's share of the starts in September as Murphy has only started four of the last 10 games. Murphy can safely be left on waivers in all formats.