Giants backup catcher Tom Murphy was diagnosed with a mid-back herniated disc, the team announced to its beat writers this morning (link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). He’ll receive an epidural injection and be sidelined for multiple weeks. The Giants haven’t formally ruled Murphy out for Opening Day, but things certainly appear to be trending that direction.
Waiver claim Sam Huff and minor league signee Max Stassi will compete for the backup job behind Patrick Bailey if Murphy is indeed sidelined into the season. The Giants also announced that they’ve pulled catcher Adrian Sugastey from minor league camp and formally given him a non-roster invitation to big league camp, replenishing some of the lost depth.
San Francisco signed Murphy, 34 in April, to a two-year deal worth $8.25MM in the 2023-24 offseason. Though he came to the Giants with notable durability issues, the veteran backstop had a track record of stout production when healthy. From 2019-23 with the Mariners, he turned in a combined .250/.324/.460 batting line in 807 plate appearances — despite playing his home games in perhaps the worst hitters’ environment in the sport. By measure of wRC+, Murphy was 16% better than average at the plate during his run with the M’s.
To this point, Murphy’s contract has played out quite poorly. The righty-hitting veteran appeared in just 13 games early in the 2024 season before suffering a Grade 2 knee strain that was originally expected to shelve him for “at least” six weeks but ultimately proved to be season-ending in nature. Murphy logged only 38 plate appearances in his first year with the Giants and posted an anemic .118/.211/.235 slash.
Though Murphy had a history of injuries, the knee troubles were a new development. He’d previously endured lengthy absences due to a forearm fracture, a foot fracture, a dislocated shoulder and a ligament injury in the thumb on his catching hand. Knee problems were not something he’d battled prior — just as this new development of back woes is not something that’s hampered him in the past.
Last offseason’s addition of Murphy came after years of former No. 2 pick Joey Bart struggling in San Francisco. Murphy’s two-year deal surely played a role in pushing the out-of-options Bart off the roster, and the breakout he enjoyed after being traded to the Pirates only further adds a layer to Murphy’s health troubles. Bart hit .265/.337/.462 in 282 plate appearances with the Bucs last year, hitting his way to the top of the Pirates’ depth chart as we enter the 2025 campaign.
In Huff and Stassi, the Giants have a pair of experienced options to back up Bailey — who’s perhaps the game’s best defensive catcher (and one of the best defensive players in MLB, at any position). Huff just turned 27 and was at one point a top-100 prospect with the Rangers. He owns a solid-looking .255/.313/.455 slash in 214 big league plate appearances, but the Rangers clearly weren’t bullish on his chances of sustaining that production. Given that he’s benefited from a .353 average on balls in play and fanned in more than one-third of his career plate appearances, that’s an understandable concern.
Stassi, 33, hasn’t suited up in the majors since 2022 due to injuries and a harrowing 2023 ordeal wherein his son was born more than three months premature and spent more than six months in the NICU. Thankfully, the end result was Stassi and his wife being able to take their baby boy home, but Stassi’s return to the diamond in 2024 didn’t go as hoped. He’d missed time with a left hip strain early in the 2023 season, and left hip troubles resurfaced in 2024 — this time requiring season-ending hip surgery.
When he’s been on the field, Stassi has been inconsistent but shown signs of being more than a backup. From 2020-21, he slashed .250/.333/.452 with 20 homers in 118 games and 454 plate appearances. He’s an elite pitch framer who’s also shown quality blocking skills on pitches in the dirt. If he’s back to full strength after a grueling couple of years — both personally and professionally — Stassi is an intriguing backup option. He’s need to be added to the 40-man roster, however.
The Giants have a handful of other health issues to keep an eye on in camp, though to this point there doesn’t appear to be major concern on any fronts. Outfielder Heliot Ramos is dealing with an oblique issue, per the Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, but it’s only expected to sideline him for around a week. Ramos is among the most critical young players on the Giants’ roster. The longtime top prospect broke out in 2024, slashing .269/.322/.469 with 22 homers in 518 trips to the plate. The overwhelming majority of his production came against lefties (.370/.439/.750), but if he can improve his .240/.286/.387 output against fellow right-handers, Ramos has massive everyday potential.
Southpaw Erik Miller is also a bit behind, per Slusser. He’s dealing with some numbness in his pitching hand that has naturally led to some concern. He’s not yet undergone extensive testing, so there’s no telling if he’ll miss any time, but the 27-year-old Miller had a breakout of his own during last year’s rookie effort. In 67 1/3 innings out of Bob Melvin’s bullpen, he logged a 3.88 earned run average with a huge 30.6% strikeout rate but also a bloated 13.4% walk rate. He’s currently projected to be the only southpaw in the Giants’ bullpen. They don’t have another left-handed relief candidate on the 40-man roster, although non-roster players like Joey Lucchesi, Enny Romero, Ethan Small and Miguel Del Pozo all have varying levels of MLB experience.
The Red Sox will be targeting him at the trade deadline now, he’d be a perfect fit for them ;o)
Please take him! We’ll take bandage, ice, heat packs, ice packs, tylenol, and all casts because Murphy used more that his share! Oh ya, include that magic spray soccer players use during games too!
Bio freeze !
I’m going on 11 months and my herniated disc hasn’t fully healed yet.
I had you as being 14 !
We must have herniated around the same time. I’m at 10+ months. Of course, I’m 61, out of shape and don’t have a full time training staff at my disposal….
I’m pretty sure I made it worse by doing cardio too early.
I herniated a disc at 40. 8 weeks down. Even 4 years later my back would go numb (along with part of my right foot). Worst experience of my(now 50) life. Godspeed to Murph
My left foot goes numb. I’m getting another MRI tomorrow so I can have surgery to fix so I can do some jump rope again.
Oh dear. Millers numb hand is a worry.
This was exactly what I thought reading the article. He is more important to the long term success of this season than Murphy.
You never hear how Murphy hurt his knee. He was catching a game during a downpour, a game that should have been delayed/cancelled. The soggy conditions led to his injury, not his fault.
He’s bound for the 60 day IL but he could get traded first; a team looking to unload payroll (Mets, Cards et al) could unload a contract to SF for Murphy and net a prospect for the Giants. E.G., add Flores and ship them both to the Mets for Marte and a top prospect. NYM saves a bunch of money (salary relief and penalty relief). Just an idea. SF needs to fortify their farm and they have some room under the $244M salary tax threshold to play with.
Great idea. There is a burgeoning market for backup catchers with herniated discs. Salary relief or no salary relief, the world doesn’t work like that.
What will probably happen is Murphy goes on the 60 day IL and Giants use Huff/Stassi as the backup catcher. This allows Murphy to get healthy and bring him back mid year or just cut bait. Opening up a spot on the 40 man roster allows the Giants to select a LHP (Lucchesi, Del Pozo). Murphy’s injury helps the roster in the short term.
The Mets idea I proposed would work as Murphy and Flores have low relative salaries and can be traded; Marte’s salary is almost unmovable but attaching a prospect to him could make it work.
Plus the Mets have been looking for a 34 year old backup catcher with a herniated disc and a low salary. I mean who isn’t?
The last thing the Giants need is an old outfielder. The second to last thing the Giants need is Murphy and his injury-ravaged self.
Marte would be a great addition but it’s hard to count out Wilmer, and I doubt anyone is willing to take on Murphy with his spate of injuries and the likelihood he’ll be unavailable for most of the year.
I disagree – marte doesn’t have a place to play and would displace guys that would need to be DFAd or traded AND push them to the tax. in a vacuum maybe it makes sense but not in the current roster or payroll
It’s not hard at all to count out Wilmer
I don’t see the giants doing something like that unless it fills a need – they don’t want to break the tax level and if anything would rather probably trade for a LH bullpen arm since the only lefty in the pen is miller who is down with a finger injury and marte wouldn’t have a place to play with ramos, yaz, lee, meckler, luciano, mccray all in the depth chart
Yeah. Not keen on an older outfielder. Let them play and develop or not. If stassi or huff are serviceable then maybe see if a contender wants a hopefully healthy Murphy at the deadline.
huff is on the 40 and as a claim has to be – he should get the backup role as long as he plays well and has looked decent this spring.
I keep hearing positivity about stassi behind the plate. Pitchers seem to like that. Old catchers might as well. Time will tell.
I’m on team Huff.
Youth is on his side & has something to prove. Was a top prospect a few years back, but didn’t get much opportunity in the big leagues. Went deep against his old team just the other day too. Don’t know much about his defensive skills though…
Unfortunately for the Giants, as 2 of the 3 main Catchers competing to be Bailey’s backup have spent more time on the shelf than on the field the past few seasons the only team dumb enough to trade with them would be them…
I’d rather have Flores, and hope for a bounce back, than Marte, who’s 3 years older, and hope for a bounce back from him. Flores is one year away from a productive season, while Marte is two years away from one. Plus, it’s better to leave some breathing room under the tax threshold for the ability to add at the deadline.
ITS NOT ABOUT Flores or Marte! It’s about trading an injured player for a bad oversized contract with a prospect attached. And it’s just an idea, nothing more.
That’s it.
Even if the intent is to get a prospect, the result is still losing Flores for Marte. If trading away a bounce back candidate, plus taking on that much salary, and getting a declining player with limited defensive value back, then it had better be a very good prospect.
I doubt the Mets want to trade a very good prospect just to rid themselves of the Marte contract. And I’m almost certain that the Giants wouldn’t want to do that for a so-so prospect in return
I don’t blame anyone for tossing an idea out there. I just think they should be willing to hear contrary opinions when that idea was not a very good one.
@Jean This 100% correct in all respects.
The image they used on this makes it look like they caught the exact moment that the herniated disc happened
I had a herniated dics before. It was SO herniated.
I bet the Giants wish they kept Blake Sabol because he could have been the backup catcher.
Meh, he wasn’t really a catcher.
@Charlesm Sabol had the entire 2024 season in hitter-friendly AAA PCL, to take a step or two forward – but took a couple of steps backwards instead!
He was a huge disappointment there, especially considering that they’d kept him on their active roster for the entire 2023 season, in order to retain his rights after taking him in that year’s Rule 5 draft.
Team should think seriously about 60 Day IL ASAP and then release him when he comes off. Giants have already flushed $8.25 MM and received ZIP in return with the likelihood Murphy’s on=field playing career is over.
At this point you either 60 day Murphy or release him. Putting him on the 60 day probably makes the most sense because even if he can’t catch again he still has enough potential potency in his bat to see if he can get his swing back in AAA in May or June.
Dave, I don’t think bringing in Marte makes sense unless the Mets pay down the vast majority of his salary. Marte has a cumulative negative bWAR the past 2 seasons wheras Yaz has a culmulative 4.5 bWAR the past 2 seasons and is currently the better fielder. Marte could DH or be a platoon bat with Yaz, but with Matos’ big numbers in winter ball, I’d rather see him have the opportunity.
Here’s why my suggestion makes sense for the Mets and why it should cost them a top 5 prospect:
Marte’s salary for 2025 is $20,750,000. BUT he costs the Mets an additional 110% in lux taxes (3rd time offender in the highest bracket). That’s $22,825,000. For a total of 43,575,000. That’s not chump change, even for Cohen.
So attaching a top 5 prospect would be worth it to save that $$$. It would behoove ANY team under the the lux tax to consider such a deal, not just the Giants.
Murphy has turned out to be an albatross contract. Shades of La Stella. Collect his money & Giants get nothing
Thankfully Huff & Stassi are available to be Bailey’s backup. Porter may even be a long shot
Stassi was better than average when he played for the Angels, until the birth of his son. Good luck to him.
You really don’t know what an albatross contract is do you? For a team like the Giants, no 2/$8.25M deal could ever be referred to as an albatross. An albatross is one that prevents a team from doing. or spending as much as they’d like. Murphy’s deal doesn’t prevent them from doing anything. Is it wasted money? Absolutely. But the Giants can easily just eat what remains on the deal, and release him if needed.
Yep. Plenty of teams wishing their albatross contracts were La Stella and Murphy.
Parakeet contract at worst.
Not really a problem, as we never saw what he had in the first place.
A hummingbird maybe. Giants got off cheep!
Bring back Joey Bart
Buy him a BART ticket. Easy as that.