Report: Rays among several teams interested in Athletics' Murphy

The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly among several teams interested in acquiring Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Murphy, 28, is one of the marquee catchers available on the trade market this winter, joining Toronto Blue Jays trio Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Gabriel Moreno.

The Rays could lose Mike Zunino to free agency this winter, which would leave them with Francisco Mejia and Christian Bethancourt to share duties behind the plate.

A Gold Glove winner in 2021, Murphy has been one of the best catchers in baseball in his four-year career. He ranks second in the position by FanGraphs WAR since becoming a full-time major leaguer in 2020, behind only J.T. Realmuto.

Last year was his best season to date, as Murphy hit .250/.332/.426 with 18 homers, 37 doubles, and one stolen base over 148 games. He also ranked in the 84th percentile in framing and the 96th percentile in pop time for throws to second base, according to Baseball Savant.

Murphy, who's under team control for three more years, is entering his first offseason of arbitration eligibility. He is projected to earn $3.5 million next year, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

The Athletics are in the midst of a fire sale. They've traded away Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Frankie Montas, and Sean Manaea, among others, over the past calendar year.

Meanwhile, the Rays have been relatively transparent in their desire to clear space on the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday's 6:00 p.m. ET deadline. The franchise has already traded Ji-Man Choi to the Pittsburgh Pirates, released former top draft selection Brendan McKay, and waived Nick Anderson, who the Atlanta Braves later claimed.

Tampa Bay is reportedly attempting to deal from its surplus of pitching depth to consolidate roster space and add more Rule 5-eligible prospects to the 40-man roster ahead of the winter meetings, according to Morosi.