Major League Baseball

A's rookie catcher Sean Murphy undergoes knee surgery

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:05 p.m. ET

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Athletics rookie catcher Sean Murphy has undergone surgery on his left knee and is expected to be fully recovered for the start of spring training in February.

Murphy started behind the plate last week as Oakland lost the AL wild-card game to Tampa Bay. The team announced Thursday that Murphy had surgery in Phoenix earlier in the day, which happened to be his 25th birthday. The operation was performed by Dr. Thomas Carter and involved a lateral meniscal debridement procedure.

A third-round draft pick by Oakland in 2016 out of Wright State, Murphy played in 20 big league games this September and batted .245 with four home runs and eight RBIs. He only appeared in 41 minor league games between Triple-A Las Vegas and two affiliates in the Arizona Rookie League because of a strained left knee that twice landed him on the injured list.