OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A’s acquired left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller, right-handed pitcher Freddy Tarnok, catcher Manny Piña, and minor league right-handed pitcher Royber Salinas from the Atlanta Braves and outfielder Esteury Ruiz from the Milwaukee Brewers, the club announced today.  The A’s sent catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta and right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps to Milwaukee, and the Braves sent catcher William Contreras and minor league right-handed pitcher Justin Yeager to the Brewers.  To clear space on the roster, the A’s designated infielder Vimael Machín for assignment.

Muller was rated as the Braves number one prospect according to MLB.com and Baseball America.  He spent most of the 2022 season at Triple-A Gwinnett where he was 6-8 with a 3.41 ERA and .694 opponents OPS in 23 starts.  The 25-year-old left-hander struck out 159 batters in 134.2 innings and walked just 40.  Muller also went 1-1 with an 8.03 ERA in three starts with Atlanta and is 3-5 with a 5.14 ERA and .657 OPS in 12 games, including 11 starts, in two seasons in the Majors.  He was originally selected by the Braves in the second round of the 2016 draft and is 31-22 with a 3.18 ERA in 108 games, including 107 starts, in six seasons in the minors.  Muller has 588 strikeouts in 541.0 career minor league innings.  

Tarnok was the Braves sixth-ranked prospect by MLB.com and ninth by Baseball America, and made his Major League debut with Atlanta in 2022, logging 0.2 scoreless innings in one relief appearance.  He combined for a 4-3 record, a 4.05 ERA, and .695 opponents OPS in 25 games, including 23 starts, with Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett.  The 24-year-old right-hander struck out 124 in 106.2 innings while holding the opposition to a .228 batting average.  Tarnok was the Braves third round pick in 2017 and is 18-23 with a 4.05 ERA and 417 strikeouts in 377.1 innings in 98 games, including 78 starts, in five seasons in the minors.

Salinas is the Braves seventh-ranked prospect according to Baseball America and split his 2022 season between Single-A Augusta and High-A Rome, going 5-8 with a 3.55 ERA and .605 opponents OPS in 25 starts.  He struck out 175 batters in 109.0 innings and ranked fourth among all minor league pitchers in strikeouts.  The 21-year-old right-hander was signed by Atlanta as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2018 and is 10-14 with a 3.33 ERA in 55 games, including 34 starts, in three seasons in the minors.  Salinas has 279 strikeouts in 181.1 minor league innings and has held the opposition to a .197 batting average.

Piña went 2-for-14 (.143) in five games with the Braves last year before going on the injured list April 25 with an inflamed left wrist.  He had surgery on May 16 and missed the remainder of the season.  The 35-year-old right-handed hitter made his ML debut with the Royals in 2011 and is a .243 career hitter with 42 home runs, 148 RBI and a .722 OPS in 414 games over nine seasons in the Majors with the Royals (2011-12), Brewers (2016-21), and Braves (2022).  Piña saw his most playing time in 2017 when he had career highs in games (107), batting (.279), OPS (.751), and RBI (43) with the Brewers.  He slugged a career-high 13 home runs for Milwaukee in 2021.

Ruiz was listed as the Brewers eighth-best prospect by MLB.com and combined to hit .332 with 16 home runs, 65 RBI, 85 stolen bases and a .974 OPS with Double-A San Antonio, Triple-A Nashville, and Triple-A El Paso.  He led all of minor league baseball in stolen bases and led full season minor leaguers in on-base percentage (.447).  The 23-year-old right-handed hitter also ranked third in hit by pitches (27), tied for third in runs (114) and fourth in batting.  Ruiz made his ML debut with San Diego this year and went 6-for-27 (.222) with two RBI in 14 games before he was traded to Milwaukee on Aug. 1 as part of the Josh Hader deal.  He went 0-for-8 in three games with the Brewers and hit .171 with a .451 OPS in 17 games overall.  Ruiz was originally signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 and is a .285 hitter with 243 stolen bases and a .363 on-base percentage in 521 games in six seasons in the minors.

Murphy batted .250 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI, and a .759 OPS in 148 games in his fourth season with Oakland last year.  He tied for fifth in the American League in hit by pitches (13) and led AL catchers in hits (114), doubles (28), and extra base hits (46).  The 28-year-old right-handed hitter also led AL catchers in games (116) and games started (116).  Murphy was the A’s third round draft pick in 2016 and is a .236 hitter with 46 home runs, 147 RBI, and a .326 on-base percentage in 330 games in four seasons with Oakland.  He won a Gold Glove in 2021 and started all eight of the A’s postseason games in 2019 and 2020.

Payamps spent most of the season with Kansas City where he was 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 29 relief appearances.  He was claimed off waivers by Oakland on Aug. 20 and went 1-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 12 games with the A’s and combined for a 3-6 record, a 3.23 ERA, and .752 opponents OPS in 41 relief appearances overall.  The 28-year-old right-hander is 4-9 with a 3.35 ERA in 82 career appearances, including one start, in four seasons with Arizona (2019-20), Toronto (2021), Kansas City (2021-22), and Oakland (2022).

Machín hit .324 with four home runs, 49 RBI, and an .858 OPS in 64 games at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2022 before he was selected by Oakland at the end of June.  He spent the remainder of the season with the A’s and batted .220 with a home run, 13 RBI, and .587 OPS in 73 games in his third season with Oakland.  The 29-year-old right-handed hitter is a .208 hitter with one home run and 14 RBI in 122 games in three seasons in the Majors, all with the A’s.