Tom Murphy the latest catcher to join Giants roster
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants continued to tinker with the Buster Posey support group Monday, claiming catcher Tom Murphy off waivers from the Colorado Rockies in advance of their Bay Bridge Series game against the Athletics.
Murphy, 28, is the second catcher the Giants added in two days, coming after a trade for Erik Kratz from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league infielder C.J. Hinojosa.
Aramis Garcia, who was Posey’s backup only a few days ago, was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. There, Garcia joins Steven Vogt, the former A’s catcher who is recovering from shoulder surgery.
Posey, coming back from labrum and hip surgery, was in the starting for the lineup for the Giants as a light rain fell Monday night.
Where this leaves the Giants in terms of catchers on opening Day Thursday in San Diego remains to be seen. The company line on Posey and his health is that all is well. All the maneuvering at catcher can be seen either as an element of doubt about how much he’ll be able to play early on, or simply more roster sleight of hand from general manager Farhan Zaidi.
In speaking to reporters Sunday, Bochy seemed to indicate Kratz, 39, would go into the season as the primary backup because of his defensive skill and ability to handle pitchers.
Murphy, by contrast, doesn’t have the same defensive credentials but was a former top prospect in the Colorado organization who has shown some power in the minor leagues. He was hitting .250 in 17 spring training games with three homers and six RBIs for Colorado before being placed on waivers.
In seven minor league seasons, Murphy has 93 home runs, 326 RBIs and a .277 batting average. In 2013, Murphy had 22 homers and 83 RBIs splitting time between Single-A and Double-A, and after missing much of 2014 with a rotator cuff injury, had 20 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2015 in Double-A and Triple-A.
Murphy was en route from Albuquerque as the Giants and A’s were preparing to get underway.
It’s conceivable Murphy’s stay with the big club will be a short one. Zaidi is fond of picking up players who are out of options, hoping they clear waivers and then sending them to Triple-A to be brought back at a later date.
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Drew Pomeranz, originally scheduled to start Monday night, was pushed to Tuesday, where he’ll instead follow Jeff Samardzija. That gave the start to Shaun Anderson, a non-roster invitee who was reassigned to the minors on March 10.
Anderson was 8-7 with a 3.69 earned run average in Double-A and Triple-A with Richmond and Sacramento in 24 starts last season.
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The Giants starting outfield consisted of Connor Joe in left field, Steven Duggar in center and Mike Reed in right. Duggar appears etched in stone as the Giants’ center fielder, while Joe and Reed weren’t with the Giants a week ago yet could find themselves on the opening day 25-man roster.
Reed came from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder John Andreoli and cash considerations.
Versatile enough to play all three outfield positions, Reed has spent parts of three seasons in the majors, playing in 22 games with a .229 batting average. In eight seasons of minor league ball, Reed has 38 homers, 288 RBIs, 135 stolen bases and a batting average of .269.