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Revisiting the Braves' Trade That Sent William Contreras to the Brewers
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- Revisiting the Braves' Trade That Sent William Contreras to the Brewers
(Nathan Ray Seebeck IMAGN IMAGES)
Brewers catcher William Contreras proudly raised the World Series trophy Wednesday night, being named the World Series MVP, capping a historic season for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was a key player in the Brewers' championship run, hitting .270/.341/.417 with 18 home runs and 94 runs batted in over 147 games.
What you don't see while he celebrates with his teammates is the history behind his arrival in Milwaukee, which included a trade from the Atlanta Braves that could now be regarded as one of the worst deals in recent memory for Atlanta .
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In the 2022 offseason, the Braves sent Contreras and Justin Yeager to Milwaukee, and Kyle Muller, Freddy Tarnok, Manny Piña and Royber Salinas to Oakland, to get catcher Sean Murphy .
Murphy was coming off a .250/.332/.426 season with 18 home runs and a 122 OPS+, and he won a Gold Glove in 2021 with Oakland. In 2022, Contreras hit 20 home runs in 97 games for the Braves and made the All-Star Game, and he was eventually ousted from Atlanta.
Since that trade , the two players have gone in opposite directions. Contreras has been one of the better catchers in Major League Baseball, playing in more than 140 games in each of the four years since he was dealt. He also hasn't hit below .260, and he has posted 15 or more home runs in all four seasons. His 2023 season, the year after the trade, was his best, as he hit .289/.367/.457 with 17 home runs, but he hit 23 home runs the next season in 2024.
Murphy, on the other hand, has played 100-plus games in only one season with the Braves, hampered by injuries. The year after the Braves traded for him, he proved them right, hitting .251 with 21 home runs in a solid season. Since then, he hasn't hit above .200. To make things worse, Contreras has improved as a defensive catcher, which was one reason Atlanta was comfortable dealing him in hopes of upgrading behind the plate with a Gold Glove-caliber catcher in Murphy.
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The silver lining for the Braves is the emergence of young catcher Drake Baldwin, who has been a strong offensive addition. But Murphy has been a below-league-average catcher when he's on the field and healthy, which has happened for long stretches. Murphy is under team control for three more seasons, with a club option in 2029. He's scheduled to make $15 million a year over the remainder of his contract.
