Braves’ Sean Murphy undergoing hip surgery, out for rest of season
Braves catcher Sean Murphy has a labral tear in his right hip and will miss the remainder of the season, the Braves announced Monday. He’s expected to be ready for spring training.
Murphy will undergo surgery in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday. Dr. Thomas Byrd, an orthopedic hip specialist, will perform the surgery.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Murphy has dealt with a hip issue over the past three seasons, but he noted how Murphy’s performance had dipped in August.
“He’d been getting some treatment on his hip, swore to us that he was fine; that’s the guy he is, he hadn’t been on the IL before the injury a year ago,” Anthopoulos said. “Ultimately, we had a conversation with him (Sunday) night, he said it had been bothering him. He said he could get through the season and was going to come to us at the end of the season and ask for an MRI.
“We said, ‘Look, that doesn’t make any sense. Let’s get an MRI now that you’re being honest with us.’ And when we asked him, he said it had been bothering him for the last three years. You wouldn’t know about it.
“He said, ‘Look I’d just been grinding through it and it’d come and go.’ But in talking with Dr. Byrd today, he was stunned he’d been playing the last three years with it. Significant tear. It should take four months to heal, that’ll take him to January to heal up and then he’ll show up in February and should be good to go.”
Anthopoulos praised Murphy’s toughness, but it’d reached a point it was increasingly difficult to endure. Byrd acknowledged the situation would get only worse, Anthopoulos said, and so Murphy decided to move forward with surgery.
“He should be a much better player once this is resolved,” Anthopoulos said.
Murphy, 30, has hit .199/.300/.409 with 16 homers and 45 RBIs across 94 games. He and rookie sensation Drake Baldwin have created an enviable 1-2 combination at catcher. The Braves have fit both of them into their lineup at points with one serving as the designated hitter, but Anthopoulos said the team has committed to that approach for 2026.
Murphy has hit .219 with a .746 OPS over his three seasons with the Braves.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
