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Sean Murphy

Latest On The Athletics’ Offseason Approach

By Darragh McDonald | November 25, 2021 at 7:45pm CDT

Ever since the Athletics let manager Bob Melvin pack his bags and go to San Diego, it has seemed like a long and dark winter is ahead for the franchise and its fans. The skipper still had one year remaining on his contract but was allowed to sign on with the Padres without compensation, as Oakland seemed content with saving the roughly $4MM he was going to make. Since then, the questions surrounding the franchise have largely been about exactly how far they will go in stripping down the roster.

In a recent piece from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, he relays that it is unlikely they will bottom out to such a degree that their payroll drops as low as $40MM, a level that even the low-budget Athletics haven’t seen in 20 years. While that might sound like good news to A’s fans at first, it doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be selling, as Rosenthal reports they are still “likely to trade almost every player with value on their roster” but could then patch the holes on the club “by signing a bevy of free agents to one-year contracts.”

As to how this would work, Rosenthal points to the 2014-2015 offseason. At that time, the Athletics were coming off a third consecutive winning season, yet embarked on a massive roster overhaul that included trading away Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzija for prospects. This led to three straight years of basement dwelling in the AL West while acquiring big leaguers –  such as Ben Zobrist, Rich Hill, Ryan Madson – who would later be flipped for further prospects. Despite all of that selling, the payroll didn’t significantly drop in those losing seasons. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, it hovered in the vicinity of $80MM from 2014 to 2017.

As to who is expected to move, Rosenthal lists many names that have previously popped up in rumors, such as Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas. All of that group have been speculated to be trade chips due to their arbitration raises and shrinking team control. However, Rosenthal also says that “their available parts include even catcher Sean Murphy, who is a year away from arbitration,” and later adds that Murphy “will be a hot commodity in a market starved for catchers.” It has been certainly been noticed, including by MLBTR, that the free agent catching market in indeed weak this year, with the best option being 34-year-old Yan Gomes. Murphy, who just turned 27 and has four remaining years of control, would certainly be more appealing than any option on that list. In 182 career games so far, he has hit 28 home runs and slashed .222/.321/.431, a wRC+ of 109. When combined with his excellent defense, he’s produced 5.4 fWAR.

Jason Martinez of Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s 2022 payroll at $85MM, including arbitration estimates. Shipping out all the aforementioned players would subtract around $45MM and leave it sitting around the $40MM mark. But then, under this theoretical scenario, the club could then reallocate that money towards short-term deals for free agents.

Even if the A’s do decide to put this plan into action, it won’t be soon. As Rosenthal notes, most of their potential trading partners are preoccupied with trying to sign free agents before the CBA expires on December 1, which is widely expected to lead to a transaction freeze shortly thereafter. Despite all that, he reports that the Athletics have been “bombarded with trade interest in their players” and are “still gathering and organizing information.” That means any sell-off, whatever its eventual scope, will likely be crammed into the window between the thawing of the transaction freeze and the beginning of the 2022 season.

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2021 Gold Glove Winners Announced

By Mark Polishuk | November 7, 2021 at 9:11pm CDT

The 2021 Gold Glove winners were announced tonight, with plenty of Cardinal Red to be found amidst the gold.  The Cardinals became the first team to ever have five players capture Gold Gloves, underlining the tremendous all-around defensive effort that helped St. Louis reach the postseason.  Ironically, the only nominated Cardinals player who didn’t win was the most decorated name of the group — nine-time winner Yadier Molina.

The A’s, Royals, Astros, and the World Series champion Braves also had multiple winners, with each club boasting two Gold Glovers.  Ten of the 18 winners captured their first Gold Gloves, though some veteran winners continued to shine.  The most notable of the multiple-time winners is Nolan Arenado, who becomes the 23rd player to ever win nine or more Gold Gloves in his career.  Arenado still has plenty of time to continue his climb up the all-time list, yet catching 16-time winner Brooks Robinson for the all-time third base record may be a tall order even for Arenado.

Here is the full list of winners, as well as the other two nominated finalists at each position….

NL Catcher: Jacob Stallings, Pirates (1st career Gold Glove)
Yadier Molina/Cardinals, J.T. Realmuto/Phillies

NL First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals (4th)
Freddie Freeman/Braves, Max Muncy/Dodgers

NL Second Base: Tommy Edman, Cardinals (1st)
Ozzie Albies/Braves, Kolten Wong/Brewers

NL Third Base: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals (9th)
Manny Machado/Padres, Ryan McMahon/Rockies

NL Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, Giants (4th)
Francisco Lindor/Mets, Kevin Newman/Pirates

NL Left Field: Tyler O’Neill, Cardinals (2nd)
David Peralta/Diamondbacks, AJ Pollock/Dodgers

NL Center Field: Harrison Bader, Cardinals (1st)
Jackie Bradley Jr.
/Brewers, Bryan Reynolds/Pirates

NL Right Field: Adam Duvall, Braves/Marlins (1st)
Mookie Betts/Dodgers, Mike Yastrzemski/Giants

NL Pitcher: Max Fried/Braves (2nd)
Zach Davies/Cubs, Zack Wheeler/Phillies

AL Catcher: Sean Murphy, Athletics (1st)
Martin Maldonado/Astros, Salvador Perez/Royals

AL First Base: Yuli Gurriel, Astros (1st)
Matt Olson/Athletics, Jared Walsh/Angels

AL Second Base: Marcus Semien, Blue Jays (1st)
David Fletcher/Angels, Whit Merrifield/Royals

AL Third Base: Matt Chapman, Athletics (3rd)
Jose Ramirez/Guardians, Joey Wendle/Rays

AL Shortstop: Carlos Correa, Astros (1st)
J.P. Crawford/Mariners, Andrelton Simmons/Twins

AL Left Field: Andrew Benintendi, Royals (1st)
Randy Arozarena/Rays, Lourdes Gurriel Jr./Blue Jays

AL Center Field: Michael A. Taylor, Royals (1st)
Kevin Kiermaier/Rays, Myles Straw/Guardians

AL Right Field: Joey Gallo, Yankees/Rangers (2nd)
Hunter Renfroe/Red Sox, Kyle Tucker/Astros

AL Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel, White Sox (5th)
Jose Berrios/Blue Jays and Twins, Zack Greinke/Astros

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Atlanta Braves Houston Astros Kansas City Royals New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Adam Duvall Andrew Benintendi Brandon Crawford Carlos Correa Dallas Keuchel Harrison Bader Jacob Stallings Joey Gallo Marcus Semien Matt Chapman Max Fried Michael A. Taylor Nolan Arenado Paul Goldschmidt Sean Murphy Tommy Edman Yuli Gurriel

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AL Injury Notes: Pinder, Laureano, Brantley, Dozier, Britton

By Mark Polishuk | April 4, 2021 at 7:36pm CDT

The Athletics were outscored by a 35-9 margin over the course of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Astros, and some injury concerns only further worsened Oakland’s nightmare of a series.  Chad Pinder will receive an MRI after suffering a left knee sprain while making a jumping catch at the wall in the first inning of today’s game.  Pinder made an awkward landing while completing the play, and though he finished the inning, he was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the frame.

Losing a valuable utilityman like Pinder would be another blow to an A’s lineup that is already missing some key names, though manager Bob Melvin suggested Ramon Laureano could potentially be back in action on Monday.  Laureano “feels a lot better today…I think we’re getting a little bit closer with him,” Melvin told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reporters.  After jamming his wrist during a slide on Friday, Laureano has missed the Athletics’ last two games.  Sean Murphy was hit in the hand with a pitch during that same Friday game, and Melvin said Murphy will be sidelined for at least one more game since the catcher had some discomfort swinging during Sunday’s batting practice.

More from around the American League…

  • Astros manager Dusty Baker updated reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) on Michael Brantley’s status, after the outfielder was hit in the left wrist by a pitch during Saturday’s game.  X-rays were negative on Brantley’s wrist, so “when he’s coming back, it just depends on his body and how he heals,” Baker said.  “We dodged a major bullet by him having no fractures or broken wrists or anything like that.  I’m sure his bone is bruised and whenever you have a bone bruise, different people heal at different time intervals.”  It isn’t out of the question that Brantley could play on Tuesday, Baker said, but “we’ve just got to wait and see on a daily basis without rushing him back.”
  • The swelling in Hunter Dozier’s right thumb has gone down, Royals manager Mike Matheny told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, and Dozier was set to participate in an on-field workout.  While Dozier didn’t make a defensive appearance during today’s game, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out of the lineup for much longer.  The newly-extended infielder hasn’t played since leaving Thursday’s game with the thumb issue.
  • After undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in March, Zack Britton is “doing really well” in his recovery, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera and other reporters.  Britton “is scheduled to play catch this week.  He has full range of motion already,” Boone said.  It isn’t yet clear whether or not this progress could mean that Britton returns at the shorter end of the 3-to-4 month projection initially attached to his surgery.
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Houston Astros Kansas City Royals New York Yankees Notes Oakland Athletics Chad Pinder Hunter Dozier Michael Brantley Ramon Laureano Sean Murphy

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AL West Notes: Seager, Bregman, Lowrie, Murphy

By Mark Polishuk | March 7, 2021 at 1:41pm CDT

Since it seems unlikely that the Mariners will exercise their $15MM club option on Kyle Seager for the 2022 season, the third baseman could very well be entering his 11th and final season in a Seattle uniform.  Seager told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that he is focused on baseball rather than any contractual possibilities, but did say that if he does leave the M’s, he wants to go out with only positive feelings between himself and the organization.  This wasn’t exactly helped by the recent description of Seager as “overpaid” by former Mariners president/CEO Kevin Mather, and while Seager disagreed with the label, he seemed to shrug off the criticism.  “You certainly don’t love hearing comments about you like that….but that stuff is out of my control.  And if I got frustrated every time someone complained about me, I’d be having a tough go of it,” Seager said.

Beyond just leaving on a high note off the field, Seager naturally would also love some more success on the field — the M’s have enjoyed just three winning seasons in Seager’s decade with the team, and haven’t reached the postseason.  The rebuilding Mariners may not be quite ready to contend just yet, and Seager is something of a difficult trade candidate since his 2022 club option vests into a guarantee if he is dealt.  (Plus, Seager will gain full no-trade rights roughly three months into the 2021 season, as he is on pace to achieve 10-and-5 status.)  The third baseman said that he hasn’t spoken with GM Jerry Dipoto about trade possibilities or the club option, but Seager figures that without the vesting clause, he would have been moved a long time ago as part of Seattle’s roster overhaul.

More from around the AL West…

  • Alex Bregman has been nursing a balky lefty hamstring in camp, and the Astros star tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that the injury first occurred in early January.  After being careful throughout the offseason and during Spring Training, Bregman felt his hamstring was around 90 percent healed and he is planning to soon get some games under his belt in preparation for Opening Day.  Bregman also noted that he has been “trying to clean up running form…whether it’s posture or working on my hips and stuff like that” to avoid more hamstring injuries in the future, as he missed over two weeks last season due to a right hamstring strain.
  • Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie could play in his first game of the spring by Tuesday, if the veteran gets through base-running activities today without any setbacks.  Oakland manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that today’s drill is “kind of the last hurdle for” Lowrie in being cleared for action.  Lowrie underwent knee surgery in October, as he looks to finally escape the knee problems that plagued him in 2019 and 2020 as a member of the Mets.  After appearing in only nine games in 2019, Lowrie didn’t play at all last season.
  • In another Athletics health update, Sean Murphy has been catching bullpens and will hit soft toss on Sunday, according to Melvin.  Murphy is recovering from a collapsed lung and a subsequent surgery in the offseason, and while it isn’t yet known when he might appear in a Spring Training game, Melvin said the catcher is “moving along nicely.”
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Houston Astros Notes Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Alex Bregman Jed Lowrie Kyle Seager Sean Murphy

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California Health Notes: Murphy, Ohtani, Bellinger

By Jeff Todd | February 24, 2021 at 8:55pm CDT

Here’s the latest from out west, with a focus on the health situations of a trio of important players …

  • Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is firmly on the mend after an offseason medical scare, Matt Kawahara writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. He discussed his recovery from a collapsed lung, noting that it was quite a bit more terrifying before medical professionals informed him that he could anticipate a relatively swift recovery. Murphy underwent an additional procedure to protect against a recurrence. Though he’s delayed to open spring camp, the top Oakland backstop says he’s “really optimistic” of being fully ramped up in time to get behind the dish on Opening Day. Murphy, 26, will look to establish himself as a first-tier MLB performer after mashing out a .237/.355/.491 slash through his first 200 plate appearances.
  • Angels hurler/slugger Shohei Ohtani is under the microscope as he looks to get his pitching career back on track. As Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter, Ohtani appears to be in a good place from a velocity perspective. The righty says he’s working comfortably in the mid-nineties in bullpen sessions and has touched 97 mph. When last we saw Ohtani in top form, during his brief but scintillating 2018 debut, he was averaging nearly 97 mph with his heater. The hopefully resurgent two-way player is also now toying with a changeup as he fine-tunes his arsenal.
  • Dodgers superstar Cody Bellinger seems to be making a strong bounce back from offseason shoulder surgery, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Bellinger, who memorably dislocated the joint in an over-exuberant NLCS home run celebration, says he’s “way ahead” of the anticipated schedule for his recovery. Given his progress to this point, the 2019 MVP says he’s “100 percent” sure he’ll be ready to roll on Opening Day. That’s obviously quite welcome news for the Los Angeles powerhouse. While the Dodgers are perhaps baseball’s deepest team, there’s no replacing a player of Bellinger’s ability. And the club is facing its sternest intra-division test in some time in the form of a talent-laden Padres outfit.
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Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Oakland Athletics Cody Bellinger Sean Murphy Shohei Ohtani

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Athletics’ Sean Murphy Undergoes Knee Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | October 10, 2019 at 6:39pm CDT

Athletics catcher Sean Murphy underwent a lateral meniscal debridement procedure on his left knee today, as per a team announcement.  The surgery addresses the meniscus problems that plagued Murphy this season (leading to a pair of stints on the Triple-A injured list), and the young backstop “is expected to be ready for Spring Training.”

Knee surgery isn’t exactly the best way to celebrate a birthday, as Murphy turns 25 years old today.  But, given how the youngster performed in his first taste of MLB action even while not at 100 percent, a clean bill of health makes Murphy seem like an even more intriguing prospect going forward, and a strong candidate to assume the everyday catching duties for the Athletics for next season.

Murphy hit .245/.333/.566 with four home runs over his first 60 Major League plate appearances, all but one of which took place in September.  With the A’s battling for a wild card berth, Murphy’s performance earned him an increasingly larger share of the playing time alongside veteran catcher Josh Phegley, and Murphy ended up getting the start in Oakland’s wild card game loss to the Rays.

After three impressive years at Wright State, Murphy was a third-round pick for the A’s in the 2016 draft and continued to impress as he worked his way up the minor league ladder.  Murphy hit .267/.341/.456 over 966 career PA in the minors, showing up strong offensive potential to go along with his highly-touted defensive skills.  Fangraphs ranks Murphy as the 29th-best prospect in baseball, with MLB.com (43rd) and Baseball America (52nd) also issuing strong placements on their top-100 prospects lists.

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Athletics Select Sean Murphy

By George Miller | September 1, 2019 at 9:46am CDT

Sunday: The A’s have confirmed Murphy’s promotion.

Saturday: With the end of August ushering in the expansion of MLB rosters, the Athletics are set to promote catcher Sean Murphy to make his Major League debut when the calendar turns to September, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com.

Murphy, 24, is regarded as the Athletics’ best position-player prospect and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 44 overall prospect in baseball. A 2016 third-round draft selection, Murphy has caught scouts’ attention with his refined defensive game behind the plate, drawing rave reviews for his arm strength to go along with developing game-calling, blocking, and receiving. His defensive-minded profile means that he has all the makings of a solid MLB regular, even if he never actualizes his full offensive potential.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some offensive talent here, though. Spending the 2019 season at Triple-A, Murphy has enjoyed the best offensive season of his career. With a .293/.384/.580 batting line, Murphy has posted a 135 wRC+ this season—meaning that he grades out 35% better than average—an impressive mark even when considering the boosted offensive environment in Triple-A. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs project Murphy to be “a high-contact bat with doubles power” as a Major Leaguer, no doubt an acceptable profile by catcher standards.

In Oakland, Murphy will join the current combination of Josh Phegley and Chris Herrmann behind the plate, the only other catchers on the 40-man roster. On the whole, that duo has provided lackluster offensive production from the catcher position, so Murphy could step into semi-regular playing time in his first taste of the big leagues. With the A’s promoting another highly-regarded prospect, Murphy could represent a sort of late-season reinforcement for a team in position to return to the postseason. Having recently promoted top prospect A.J. Puk and in position to welcome back Sean Manaea, Oakland looks to have strengthened its roster for the season’s final month without having to make any transactions.

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Oakland Athletics Top Prospect Promotions Sean Murphy

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West Notes: Athletics, Giants, Rangers

By Connor Byrne | August 28, 2019 at 1:54am CDT

Let’s take a look around the majors’ West divisions…

  • With the Athletics looking to add a third catcher when rosters expand, they’re set to choose between minor leaguers Sean Murphy and Dustin Garneau, manager Bob Melvin told Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. “There will be a lot of talk leading up into Sunday on who that will be,” Melvin said. The more hyped option is certainly Murphy, one of the best prospects in baseball (MLB.com ranks him 44th). The 24-year-old has gotten his first extensive action at the Triple-A level this season and laid waste to enemy pitchers, whom he has teed off on for a .337/.415/.702 line (158 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 123 plate appearances. However, injuries have led to an abbreviated campaign for Murphy, and the A’s might not promote him yet if they don’t expect him to garner much playing time. In that case, the edge would go to the veteran Garneau, who was with Oakland earlier in the season before it outrighted him to Triple-A on Aug. 19.
  • The Giants are shutting down right-handed reliever Trevor Gott for two weeks because of a Grade 1 UCL sprain and a flexor strain, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Surgery’s not an option at the moment, fortunately, and manager Bruce Bochy’s hopeful Gott will pitch again this season. If not, this will go down as an encouraging year for Gott, whom the Giants acquired from the Nationals for cash considerations in February. While Gott has put up an unappealing 4.44 ERA in 52 2/3 frames, he has also notched a 3.12 FIP with 9.74 K/9 against 2.91 BB/9 and almost doubled his swinging-strike rate since last year (from 5.6 percent to 10.8).
  • More from Baggarly, who tweets that righty Johnny Cueto’s another Triple-A start away from rejoining the Giants. The 2018 Tommy John patient’s scheduled to take the ball Saturday, after which the Giants hope to activate him. That would seem to align with Bochy’s Sept. 8 projection for Cueto. The Giants’ playoff hopes are all but dead at this point, but they’ll nonetheless be glad to welcome Cueto back in advance of 2020. Next season will be the second-last guaranteed campaign of the six-year, $130MM contract San Francisco handed the then-ace prior to 2016.
  • The Rangers are contemplating September promotions for hard-throwing minor league relievers Joe Barlow and Demarcus Evans, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Neither pitcher is on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, which is full, but the team plans to add the soon-to-be Rule 5-eligible pair in the coming months anyhow, as Grant notes. The 23-year-old Barlow has largely mowed down pro hitters since he joined the Rangers as an 11th-round pick in 2016, though he has struggled over his first 15 1/3 Triple-A innings this season. Evans, 22, was a 25th-rounder in 2015 who has risen to Double-A ball for the first time this season. He has overcome a high walk rate there (5.4 per nine) to post a microscopic 1.08 ERA with 14.58 K/9 in 33 1/3 innings.
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Notes Oakland Athletics San Francisco Giants Texas Rangers Johnny Cueto Sean Murphy Trevor Gott

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Athletics Sign Cameron Rupp To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | May 20, 2019 at 9:06am CDT

The Athletics have inked Cameron Rupp to a minor league deal, as was first noted on MLB.com’s transactions page. It doesn’t appear that there was a formal announcement from the organization, but Rupp has already logged a pair of games with Triple-A Las Vegas. He was released from a minor league pact with the Tigers last week.

Rupp, 30, hit .254/.329/.366 in 79 plate appearances with Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate but is best known for a five-season stretch with the Phillies from 2013-17. Rupp hit a combined .234/.298/.407 with 39 home runs, 57 doubles and a pair of triples through 1127 plate appearances in his time with the Phils, serving as their primary backstop for the final two seasons of his tenure there.

While Rupp has some pop in his bat, as evidenced by a career .173 ISO (slugging minus batting average), he’s been too strikeout prone at the dish (28.7 percent). Behind the plate, he’s thwarted 31 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in his career, which is slightly above the league average, while drawing questionable framing marks — particularly in 2017.

The Athletics have received perhaps surprising production from 31-year-old Josh Phegley behind the plate this season (.282/.313/.491), which has led to Phegley receiving considerably more playing time than veteran Nick Hundley. The 35-year-old Hundley inked a minor league contract this winter and broke camp with the A’s this season, but he’s hitting just .200/.228/.327 through his first 57 plate appearances.

The signing of Rupp comes not long after the A’s received some unwelcome news on top catching prospect Sean Murphy, who suffered a torn meniscus that required surgical repair (as initially reported by The Atheltic’s Melissa Lockard, on Twitter). That procedure should sideline Murphy into mid-June, if not longer, so Rupp will team up with Beau Taylor to hand catching duty in Vegas for the time being. Offseason signee Chris Herrmann is also recovering from knee surgery — his coming back in March — thus further depleting the organization’s depth at catcher.

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Oakland Athletics Transactions Cameron Rupp Sean Murphy

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Athletics’ Chris Herrmann Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

By Steve Adams and TC Zencka | March 9, 2019 at 10:28am CDT

TODAY: Herrmann’s surgery was a success. Per a team release, “The surgery was performed by Dr. Douglas Freedberg and involved a chondroplasty procedure to Herrmann’s central trochlea of his right knee as well as cleaning up loose bodies in the knee.” He is set to be reevaluated sometime in the coming couple of weeks.

March 6: Athletics catcher Chris Herrmann is headed for arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, manager Bob Melvin and trainer Nick Paparesta revealed to reporters Wednesday (Twitter links via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). There’s no timetable for Herrmann’s return at present, as the extent of the damage won’t be fully clear until doctors are performing the operation. What’s currently known is that Herrmann requires a cartilage cleanup, the removal of some bone spurs and the repair of a fissure in the problematic knee.

The Herrmann injury likely ensures that non-roster invitee Nick Hundley will make the Opening Day roster alongside holdover Josh Phegley. Top prospect Sean Murphy could conceivably have been an option, though Slusser tweets that the organization doesn’t want to rush him at this point. The 24-year-old Murphy has logged just one full season in Double-A and only three games of Triple-A ball to this point in his career, so it’s not a surprise that the organization feels he’s in need of continued development. If the A’s choose to look outside the organization, defensive standout Martin Maldonado remains unsigned and could certainly give the Oakland organization an experienced, glove-first option behind the dish.

Herrmann, 31, signed a one-year, $1MM contract with the Athletics back in early December after being non-tendered by the division-rival Astros, who’d previously claimed him off waivers from the Mariners. Last season was a productive one for Herrmann with Seattle — albeit in a small sample at the MLB level. In 87 trips to the plate as a Mariner, he slashed .237/.322/.421 with two homers, four doubles and a pair of triples. While he’s had some brief flashes of success in the Majors — most notably with the D-backs in 2016 — Herrmann’s career .205/.282/.351 batting line in 898 PAs between Minnesota, Arizona and Seattle doesn’t exactly stand out.

Both Herrmann and Phegley are out of minor league options, so once Herrmann is healthy, the A’s will need to make a decision as to how to proceed with their catching corps, as it’s highly unlikely that Oakland would look to carry that pairing and Hundley for a significant period of time. Beyond that, Murphy may well force his way onto the big league roster in 2019, which will only add another layer to the decision.

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