The Cleveland Guardians were said to be one of several teams that were calling the Oakland Athletics about top catcher Sean Murphy.
The Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, and St. Louis Cardinals were also checking in with Oakland about the 2021 Gold Glove catcher.
Ultimately, the 28-year-old ended up with the Atlanta Braves in a three-team trade that sent Manny Pina to the Athletics and William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Twitter, a Guardians fan expressed discontent and disappointment over the team being unable to pull off a trade for the top catcher, while also expressing how exciting it would have been to see Murphy in Cleveland threads.
Sean Murphy just went to the Braves. Sucks for the #Guardians. Would have loved to have seen him in Cleveland.#WTAM
— Bloomdaddy (@Bloomdaddyradio) December 13, 2022
Murphy Heads To Atlanta
In addition to the Murphy trade, the division rival Minnesota Twins signed Christian Vazquez to a three-year deal.
Ultimately, the Guardians came up just a bit short and still find themselves searching for a new catcher to replace Austin Hedges.
But the team’s catching options from outside the organization are dwindling.
While a reunion with Hedges is still possible, the Guardians may still choose to look elsewhere.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been openly shopping both Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen to clear a spot for 22-year-old Gabriel Moreno.
A trade for Kirk or Jansen remains a possibility for the Guardians.
Omar Narvaez is also still a free agent and could be a fit with in Cleveland.
As it stands right now, the Guardians’ catching options from within the organization are Bo Naylor and Bryan Lavastida.
With the team’s catching options dwindling, they’ll need to act fast if they want to add somebody from outside the organization.
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