Athletics no. 3 prospect Sean Murphy will be promoted to the majors on Sunday, per a report from MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos. He’ll be one of several call-ups for the club during the roster expansion, as infielder Franklin Barreto and right-hander Paul Blackburn are also expected to return from stints in Triple-A Las Vegas.
Murphy, 24, was named the no. 3 prospect in the A’s farm system and no. 44 overall in 2019. The catcher is working through his second consecutive run in Triple-A, where he’s batting .308/.386/.625 with 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and a 1.011 OPS across 140 plate appearances. Add that to his repository of defensive skills, for which he currently ranks fourth-best among catching prospects in the league, and it looks like he’ll be more than capable of carving out a spot for himself behind Oakland’s starting duo of Josh Phegley and Chris Herrmann.
Per Gallegos, Murphy will join the team on the road in New York and gear up for his MLB debut during Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees. He’ll man the plate behind Sean Manaea, who is scheduled to return to the mound for the first time since August 2018 after dealing with a left shoulder injury.