Tom

Murphy

Murphy heads to free agency after missing all of last season with a back injury. The 34-year-old catcher figures to have some appeal in a reserve role as emergency catching depth, but he’s probably going to have to settle for a minor league contract if he wants to continue putting on his catcher’s gear.

Murphy will miss at least two months to open the regular season. It’ll be Sam Huff handling the backup catching duties in his absence.

Murphy will be sidelined for the next two weeks after the injection. The 33-year-old is assuredly out for the start of the season, and likely won’t be ready to return until near the end of April.

Murphy has a middle-back disk herniation, and the backup backstop will need to get cleared relatively soon if he’s not going to open the 2025 season on the injured list. At this point, it seems more likely than not that he won’t be ready for the start of the year.

Murphy underwent an MRI last week, and the results confirmed the herniation. The 33-year-old has been plagued by injuries, and there’s a very good chance he’ll miss the beginning of the 2025 season as well. Sam Huff and Max Stassi will battle for the backup backstop job while Murphy recovers.

Murphy was supposed to be healthy this spring after missing most of last year with a knee injury, but a new problem has arisen. Even though Murphy is due $4 million in the second season of a two-year deal, the Giants were planning on throwing open the backup catcher spot, making it a competition between Murphy, Sam Huff and Max Stassi.

Murphy sprained his MCL just a month into the 2024 season with the Giants and didn’t play again that year. The 33-year-old left-hander has dealt with injuries for the majority of his career but should see most of the playing time behind the plate against lefties as long as he’s healthy enough to do so.

Nothing has changed in the prognosis for Murphy — who is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a left knee sprain — this was done as a procedural move to free up a spot on the Giants’ 40-man roster for Curt Casali who was signed to a big league deal on Wednesday.

Murphy has not been able to stay healthy for much of his career, and unfortunately, the backstop will miss a considerable amount of time with his knee sprain. The good news is that the 33-year-old won’t need surgery, but it’s a a Grade 1 to 2 sprain that will keep him out for the foreseeable future.

As expected, the 33-year-old backstop lands on the injured list after injuring his left knee during Saturday’s battle against the Phillies. With Patrick Bailey (concussion) also shelved, the Giants will rely on Blake Sabol and Jakson Reetz to handle the load behind the plate for the time being. There’s no clear timetable for how long Murphy may be shelved for.