A's promote catcher Murphy to Triple-A

Sean Murphy just rejoined Double-A Midland on Monday, but he won't be finishing the season with the RockHounds.
The A's third-ranked prospect was promoted to Triple-A Nashville on Friday and will close the regular season with the Sounds after batting .288/.358/.498 in 68 Texas League games, a line that would rank among the circuit's finest if Murphy had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

A wrist injury last month not only cost Murphy to see his name near the top of the leaderboards but also a Futures Game appearance after he was named to the U.S. team on the same day he played his last game with the RockHounds before missing seven weeks. The 23-year-old underwent surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his right hand in late July, the second time he's dealt with such an injury -- he broke his left hamate as a junior at Wright State.

Murphy ranks fourth among MLB.com's top catching prospects and sits at No. 51 on the overall Top 100 list. His defensive skills, including an ability to shut down opposing running games, have always been his calling card, but 2018 is easily his best campaign at the plate.
The New York native hit .250/.313/.410 for Class A Advanced Stockton and Double-A Midland last year and posted a .597 OPS in 53 games with the RockHounds after being promoted in late June. He improved his OPS with the RockHounds by more than 250 points this season, and his 52 runs scored and 27 doubles already are career bests. He's five off his career-high RBI mark of 48.