When Athletics general manager David Forst told Sean Murphy he was being traded to the Atlanta Braves on Monday, it didn't come as a shock to the Gold Glove-winning catcher.
Oakland's homegrown backstop has been on the trade block since the middle of the 2022 MLB season, as the A's continue their rebuild and look to the future with young catcher Shea Langeliers behind the plate.
Still, Forst said Murphy wasn't expecting to hear from him Monday.
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"I had a really nice conversation with Sean, actually. He was not surprised that he got traded, but surprised to be hearing from me today and about where the landing spot was," Forst said Monday. "In general, he was sort of very reflective and appreciative of his time here.
"And I talked to him about all of the things he faced on his way to a really impressive '22 season."
Murphy was traded to Atlanta on Monday as part of a three-team deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, with Oakland receiving right-handed pitching prospects Freddy Tarnok and Royber Salinas, left-hander Kyle Muller and veteran catcher Manny Piña from Atlanta as well as Brewers outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz in the trade.
The deal came after Murphy finished his time in Oakland batting .236/.326/.429 with 46 home runs in 330 career games. In 2022, Murphy hit .250 with 18 home runs.
Oakland Athletics
Forst said he reminisced with Murphy about his time with the A's, like when the catcher overcame a hamate bone injury in 2018, a knee injury in 2019 and a collapsed lung in 2021.
"He had a lot to fight through and this narrative of being injury prone to get over before having a really, really great, healthy '22 season," Forst said. "... It's never an easy call and never easy to say goodbye to a player like that."
Murphy lauded Langeliers during the conversation, Forst added -- something the GM believes shows plenty about the catcher's presence.
"He actually had really nice things to say about Shea on his way out, which he didn't have to do." Forst said. "I told him how appreciative we were that he kind of brought Shea along the last six weeks of the season when clearly it had ramifications on his own situation and his future.
"A lot of credit goes to Sean for that."
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Just as it wasn't an easy goodbye for Forst, saying farewell to Murphy certainly won't be easy for A's fans who watched him rise up through the organization.
But the A's received a treasure chest in return for the catcher, and now they have plenty to look forward to with the hard-hitting Langeliers behind the dish.