MLB Rumors: Here's The High Price A's Want In Trade For Sean Murphy

One rival executive described the price for Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy as "high -- like the moon." No surprise then, that a deal hasn't yet materialized for the Gold Glove backstop.

According to Angelina Martin of NBC Sports, the St. Louis Cardinals were heavily into discussions with the A's about a trade for Murphy before they decided to pivot and spend $87.5M to sign free agent catcher Willson Contreras instead. The price the Cards encountered from Oakland was, shall we say, prohibitive. They're looking for two established young major leaguers plus a top prospect.

The A's apparently asked for outfielder Lars Nootbar, Gold Glove-winning utilityman Brendan Donovan and power pitching prospect Gordon Graceffo from St. Louis in exchange for the 28-year-old Murphy. 

Sean Murphy was of big interest to the Cardinals, but was “too expensive” from what I’ve been told. https://t.co/GtOCojXxjH

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) December 7, 2022

Oakland has a blue-chip prospect catcher ready to take over at the major league level in Shea Langeliers, but they're not about to trade Murphy — a solid defensive backstop with nice pop at the plate, with three more years of team control — for anything short of a big haul.