The Atlanta Braves need a big year from Sean Murphy in 2023
By Eric Cole
The Atlanta Braves have a lot of good things going on for them going into the upcoming 2023 season. They have multiple potential MVP candidates on the roster with Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Matt Olson. If they stay healthy all year long, Max Fried and Spencer Strider could easily be among the top pitchers in the entire league and, if last year was any indication, Kyle Wright could force himself into that conversation as well. The bullpen should be great as it is both deep in talent and anchored by (at minimum) two studs in AJ Minter and Raisel Iglesias. Things could go sideways with any of those guys, but they are in a very strong starting position yet again going into 2023.
However, one thing that cannot be overstated is how important it is going to be for one of the Braves’ newest additions, Sean Murphy, to adjust quickly to his new surroundings because if the Braves are going to compete for another World Series title this coming season, they are going to need a big season from him on both sides of the ball.
Sean Murphy will need to manage the pitching staff well…and quickly
I don’t think we need to go over too much how good of a defensive catcher Sean Murphy is at this point as it was a pretty big selling point by, well, basically everyone when the Braves acquired him. Murphy can control the running game exceedingly well (which is going to be an important skill if the new rules for 2023 and beyond increase stolen base attempts as expected) and he is a good pitch framer as well.
However, one thing that he will have get up to speed on in a hurry is game management, preparation, and just helping to manage that pitching staff alongside Travis d’Arnaud. There are certainly no red flags that he doesn’t possess those skills, but this is a brand new pitching staff for him and that staff is going to have to get used to him as well. All parties are going to have to be on the same page and quickly because this division race is likely to be tight, so early season growing pains could prove costly down the line.
That is going to mean he’ll need to know how Spencer Strider’s breaking ball moves when he is on as well as when he is not on, how to change pitch sequences in game when opposing batters are seemingly putting good swings on his fastball to keep them off balance while still utilizing Fried’s strengths, how to settle Kyle Wright down when an inning goes sideways vs. how to settle down Bryce Elder. Hell, Charlie Morton’s breaking ball (when it isn’t plunking a guy’s back foot) isn’t the easiest pitch in the world to block when one is used to it. These are all things that he will most certainly end up great at in a Braves uniform, but for the Braves to make a run in 2023…he will need to excel quickly.
Murphy will need to bring some offense or things could get dicey
Admittedly here, the bar for catcher offense is low especially for a catcher of Sean’s defensive ability. However, the Braves do have some question marks (although with real upside) in their lineup at shortstop, left field, and to a lesser extent DH already. Sure, if Vaughn Grissom rakes while starting a ton of games at short and Eddie Rosario pretends that every team he goes against in 2023 is the Dodgers from the 2021 NLCS, then it doesn’t really matter what Murphy does at the plate.
However, if those guys struggle (which could easily happen), then the lineup shortens up a good bit. The Braves still have thunder at the top of the lineup to make things happen, but a lineup with length gets tough starters out of the game more quickly and can punish bullpens without great match-up arms or depth.
Fortunately for the Braves, Sean has a good track record at the plate as three of his four big league seasons have him posting an OPS north of .750. He draws walks, has some pop, and doesn’t strike out at an unreasonable rate. All of these are good signs and if he can put together a season at the plate in 2023 in line with his career averages or better, Atlanta is going to be in really good shape in all likelihood.