John Ryan Murphy Gives Pirates Options at Catcher as Well as Other Positions

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to CoronaVirus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball.

After Been Cherrington was hired as the Pirate's new General Manager, one of his top priorities was finding some help at catcher whether that be at the Major League level or in the way of Minor League help. Charring ton got right to work signing Luke Maile to a Big League contract and followed that up with an interesting move signing John Ryan Murphy to a Minor League contract and an invite to Big League Spring Training. Murphy had been around the league, with seven years of MLB experience, and had been a part of several playoff teams. However, he also adds an interesting dynamic to the Pirates catching situation as he has had experience not only behind the plate but at other positions on the field.

Murphy spent most of 2019 with the Arizona Diamondbacks jumping between the Big Leagues and the Minor Leagues. He appeared in 25 games for the Diamondbacks and hit .177 with four home runs and seven RBI. He had the power strike going with seven of his 11 hits going for extra bases, however, that was all he had going for him as he couldn't get anything else going. He struck out 28 times in 62 at-bats and walked just six times before being designated for assignment on May 25th. He cleared waivers and was sent down to Triple-A before being traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash at the July 31st trade deadline.

He would start his time in Atlanta at Triple-A Gwinett and played a month an a half in the Minors before getting recalled to the Big League club on September 17th. Murphy would have just one at-bat with the Braves and went 0-1 before being released in October. The Pirates saw an opportunity to sign a veteran catcher who can bring some power to the lineup when needed. He showed off that power in Spring Training this season, leading the Pirates with three home runs in eight games played. However, those three hits are the only ones he had as he hit .157 (3-19) in eight games played.

After being a second-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2009 MLB Draft, he made his Big League debut with the pinstripes five years later. While he was never a starting catcher in New York, he was a back-up to several great catchers including Francisco Cervelli, Brian McCann, and Gary Sanchez. His biggest workload with the Yankees came in 2015 when he appeared in 67 games, starting 43 of them. It was also his best offensive season as he hit .277 with three home runs and 14 RBI. It was the first time that Murphy showed any power at the Major League level and his average was good for a back-up catcher.

However, that would be Murphy's last season in a Yankees uniform as he was traded that off-season to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Aaron Hicks. His time with the Twins didn't work out so well as he appeared in just 26 games for the Twins hitting just .146 with one home run and three RBI. Defensively he played well committing just one error in 207 innings played, but it wasn't enough as he was sent down to Triple-A and didn't get a call up until the September call-ups that season and played the final month of the year with Minnesota before being traded once again that off-season.

This time, he was shipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league reliever Gabriel Moya. He would play two and a half seasons for the Diamondbacks and never had a batting average over .202. However, he did show some flashes of power, hitting 14 home runs in his two and a half seasons with the Diamondbacks. Now that he is in Pittsburgh, Murphy is looking to revamp his career and provide depth at catcher for the Pirates. While Murphy has come to the Pirates as a catcher, he offers a unique opportunity for the Pirates to possibly carry three catchers while using Murphy in other positions as well.

Murphy worked a few games at first base with the Pirates in Spring Training and has experience working at third base as well. This could help add more depth to the infield for the Pirates while giving them three catchers on the roster. This would allow manager Derek Shelton to pinch hit for a catcher if he needs to without worrying about not having a back-up catcher. With both of the Pirates catchers being better defensively than offensively, this could allow a guy like Jose Osuna to come up in a pressure situation while still allowing the Pirates to have an insurance policy behind the plate in case of injury.

A bench role would be more suitable for Murphy and allow him to better utilize the power he has found over the last couple of seasons. After hitting just five home runs combined in his first four years of his career, Murphy has broken out over the last two seasons with 13 home runs. The downside is it seems to be either home run or single for Murphy with 24% of his hits going for home runs and 52% of his hits going for singles. His hard-hit percentage has dropped over the years and sat at just 27% last season with an average exit velocity of 85.3. If he can channel some of that power in a pinch-hitting situation.

The positive to having Murphy on the bench is his strong defensive play not only last season but throughout his professional career. Last season, Murphy was able to get 55.1% of his pitches called strikes while saving two runs per strike. He is best when working on the corners getting 75.3% of pitches on the inside corner and 70.3% of pitches on the outside corner called strikes. With a lot of the Pirates pitching staff working more on location than velocity, this will be key as he looks to get more pitches called strikes and shrink the strike zone. He also didn't allow a single passed ball last season and has only allowed two in the last three seasons showing he can handle the low pitch as well.

The other thing Murphy brings to the team that you won't find on a stat sheet is experience around winning organizations. He has made the playoffs twice and has experience going as far as the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He knows what a winning clubhouse and a winning team has to do every day to make it to the playoffs. He can pass this experience on to the young guys who make up the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates. His role on the field might not be a big one, but you always need one of two clubhouse guys to boost the morale of the team throughout the season.

With many questions surrounding how and when the 2020 season will begin and how many games will be played, rosters could be expanded past the normal 25-man roster. With doubleheaders and no off days looking like they will be the norm, teams are going to need healthy catchers to be able to catch all those games. This new format could be Murphy's ticket to the Big Leagues as he looks to provide the depth the Pirates are looking for at the catcher position. Whoever has the best numbers throughout the course of the season might win the job so Murphy will have to work hard for his playing time.

Prediction: .215, 6 HR, 22 RBI

As I said before, I think John Ryan Murphy will be playing in the Big Leagues with the Pirates at some point in 2020. However, I don't see his offense coming around, but the power should once again come through in spurts. I think Stallings is going to run with the starting catcher job, but Murphy will be able to help him in his development as he goes from minor league journeyman to MLB starting catcher. If Murphy can help him do that, he would be worth the off-season signing that put him in the black and gold.

It is still uncertain as to when the 2020 MLB season is set to begin, but we at Buccos Cove are determined to continue to bring you strong content. Until the 2020 season begins, we will continue looking at the players who make up the 2020 Pirates organization and how they will impact the organization this season.