For a fanbase biting their figurative fingernails to the quick hoping for an ace pitcher signing, this comes as a gigantic letdown, and it is a frustrating move on several levels. First the deets: Tom Murphy C signed a 2 year/$8 M contract with the Giants with a third year team option for another $ 4 M with a $250 K buyout for a total guarantee of $8.25 M.
Now, if you are an avid student of The Churn, you may remember the name Tom Murphy as one of the early acquistions and casualties all wrapped into one. He was claimed off waivers from the Rockies late in spring training of 2019, FZ's first season as POBO. That only lasted for a few hours or maybe a day or two before FZ DFA'd him and then traded him to the Mariners, yep them. Here's what is so frustrating about The Churn: I knew Murphy could hit. He hit 8 HR's in 88 PA in 2015 and 2016 which projects to 54 in 600 PA. Yes it was a small sample and it was the Rockies but yeah, there was toonder in the bat. I really wanted to see what he could do with a steady back up role and then poof! He was gone again. I mean, think of the backup catchers the Giants have churned through since 2019 and I am quite sure you cannot find one that made you happy they flipped Murph on to the Mariners.
Murphy went on to slash .273/.324/.535 with 12 HR in 281 PA for the Mariners in 2019. He missed the 2020 season and his number regressed in 2021. Me missed much of 2022 to injury but rebounded to a .290/.335/.538, 12 HR line in 159 PA last season. For his career, he's hit 48 HR in 1017 PA which is 28 HR/600 PA. His total impact has been limited by....wait for it....injuries. So now, after missing out on a couple of really good, if limited, seasons from him the FZ signs him to a relatively big free agent contract for a back up catcher.
There are almost certainly multiple ripples from this signing. First, the writing is on the wall for Joey Bart. He is out of options and therefore has to make the 26-man active roster or be exposed to waivers. Barring at least one and probably several injuries, Joey Bart is not going to make the active roster. The question is not if, but when he gets traded or DFA'd. I suppose FZ could keep Joey around through spring training and hope he shows enough to garner some trade interest for a team in need of a back up catcher or a rebuilding team that can afford to be patient with him.
The signing also means that Blake Sabol, who now has 3 exercisable options will almost certainly start the season in AAA Sacramento to try to improves his catching chops while maintaining and refining his prodigious power stroke.
Patrick Bailey still figures to be the Opening Day catcher and starter for the season but Murphy provides a reasonable fallback option for starting C if Bailey continues his late-season regression. Of course, Murphy has to stay healthy to step into that role.
Maybe he can be the specialist catcher for the any-minute-now ace SP? I see that he had a red-hot July 2023, so he can hit. I'm still holding out for Snell and Manaea to come pitch for Melvin...
ReplyDelete....and Stephen Vogt was the backup catcher in 2019. Can't really complain about that. Maybe there just wasn't a place to stash Murph that year?
ReplyDelete..but he sure would have been nice to have in 2020 when Joey Bart's career was ruined with a premature call up.
DeleteHave no problem with Murphy as a vet backup with a good bat as well as good bat off the bench....As for Bart, we all knew he was gone this off season but what a clusterfudge the Joey Bart situation was...Was the screwup at the draft table and he is what he is? Or were the Giants under FZ unable to get improvement out of him? or both? In any event, very poor asset management by the FZ regime in not dealing him earlier....And with the signing of Murphy lready, BRT basically has zero trade value, even as a throw-in..Oh well, it happens...
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
While maybe not true red flags, there were some concerns predraft: Relatively late riser, relatively high K rate for a college star. I became concerned as early as high A ball when I saw him in person and it lookedl like he was grooving his swing. I had seen a swing like that before: Angel Villalona. Then he got his development interrupted by the emergency callup in 2020. In retrospect the Giants should have put literally anyone but Bart out there but they still had a chance for the postseason and Bart seemed like he had more potential to give the season afterburners. Johnny Cueto's reaction to his pitch calling didn't help and it seemed to go downhill from there. It really wonder if Matt Williams could help him because Williams had a similar hitter profile and struggled before establishing himself as a MLB star.
DeleteWill FZ sign Chapman next in his lineup of What the Giants Don't Need?
ReplyDeleteOK, SF did need a CFer but $113MM plus $18.825MM posting for a guy who has never seen a major league fastball? Might work, but not all Triple-A or even AAAA players make it in the Bigs.
Sign one of the Big Name pitchers and entice YY to come – better yet sign Shōta Imanaga and use him to coax YY.
I am personally bullish on Lee.
DeleteGiants could sign Nick Ahmed and invite to Spring Training to try for a utility position.
ReplyDeleteHe would be a good late inning SS replacement to help defend a lead when the Giants have one.
Ahmed could be a perfect shortstop mentor for Luciano, Schmitt, and Fitzgerald. He could be a coach. Giants have a coach for everything else and a couple at-large coaches.
ReplyDeleteOne year minor-league deal with early opt-out.
If he gets cut and passes through waivers, would his options be reset? Or, is he done in terms of stashing in the minors?
ReplyDeleteIf Bart were passed through waivers, he could be outrighted to AAA and stay in the organization for another year but he is forever out of options.
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