Athletics’ top prospect Sean Murphy gets the call to Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — Sean Murphy’s parents grew up in the Bronx, not far from Yankee Stadium, where the A’s No. 3 prospect could make his MLB debut on Sunday.

But the Murphy family were not creatures of the House the Ruth built. Seats were far too expensive. His dad, Mike, would collect and turn in milk cartons to get tickets and a free train ride to Shea Stadium, and there the Murphy family Mets fandom was born.

Murphy didn’t grow up idolizing Mike Piazza, though, instead modeling his game off longtime Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. He thought “he was pretty cool,” and wore No. 33 all through his childhood.

Called up in the first weave of September moves, the young catcher will start what the A’s expect to be a prolific career in Oakland. He’s a menace defensively behind the plate, known for his strong arm and ability to block.

The A’s drafted him in 2016’s third round out of Wright State University, and since then Murphy has developed his hitting and power. He had 11 home runs with a .293 average with the Las Vegas Aviators and in Arizona League this year. Triple-A manager Fran Riordan usually gets tricky when breaking news to call-ups, but kept it straight with Murphy.

“Pretty much told me, ‘you’re going to Oakland, good luck, and told me not to screw it up,’” Murphy said.

Murphy will probably get some starts behind the dish upon the A’s return to the Bay Area. They may face a couple LA Angels left-handers.

Franklin Barreto

Barreto struggled during his first call-up this year, hitting .106 with two home runs in 17 games.

Barreto made some tweaks back in Las Vegas, most notably he moved his hands away from his chest a bit and saw harder contact as a result.

Manager Bob Melvin said he doesn’t see too many starts in Barreto’s future, but should provide great depth this month as a pinch hitter, pinch runner. He’s also been taking some reps in the outfield to increase versatility.

Paul Blackburn

Blackburn was peeved the last time the A’s sent him down. He channeled that anger into some key improvements in Las Vegas, where he lowered his ERA to a 4.08 prior to a rough start in Albuquerque on August 26.

With the rotation bulging to six men now, and Jesus Luzardo’s imminent call-up making it seven, Blackburn should be used out of the bullpen primarily in long relief.

The rotation isn’t necessarily a six-man rotation; the A’s just will have incredible depth and can start to give some arms longer breaks and play to match-ups readily.

The A’s also reinstated Khris Davis from paternity leave a few days after the birth of his son. Corban Joseph and Tanner Anderson were DFA’d to make room on the 40-man.