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Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday that Murphy will be delayed to begin spring training after the catcher required offseason surgery to address a collapsed lung, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Though Murphy won't be in attendance for the start of workouts, Melvin said he still expects the 26-year-old to be ready to go for Opening Day. Assuming Murphy endures no setbacks in his recovery from surgery, he could take on an even heavier workload behind the dish in 2021 after the Athletics traded his top backup, Jonah Heim, to the Rangers over the winter. Murphy finished with a subpar .233 average in 140 plate appearances in 2020, but he showed above-average power (seven home runs, five doubles) and drew walks at a 17.1 percent rate.

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