A’s promote piece acquired from Braves for Sean Murphy trade

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has become notorious for his trades with the Oakland Athletics.

First, it was Matt Olson who replaced Freddie Freeman. Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache, Ryan Cusick, and Joey Estes were the return for Oakland.

Even amid a slump right now, Olson has been a godsend for Atlanta, setting the franchise record for home runs in a season. Most consider the Braves as winners of that one.

The next one was Sean Murphy, a deal that may not look as great as the Olson trade. For starters, Wild Bill Contreras is among the best catchers in baseball. Secondly, the Braves didn’t send a bag of balls to Oakland this time.

Kyle Muller and Freddy Tarnok were a part of the deal, but it’s Royber Salinas who is the subject of this piece. Oakland promoted the right-hander to Triple-A Vegas, and he is now on the doorstep of making his major league debut, which could be as soon as this season depending on how he handles AAA.

Salinas is 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA in five starts, across 24.1 innings. He’s got three plus pitches, including a fastball, slider and curveball with a real chance to carve out a career as a starter. The Braves are still probably happy with their return of Sean Murphy, but it’s hard not to think about how this could look like a bad deal for Atlanta in a couple of seasons.