Murphy poised for role as Bucs' backup C

PITTSBURGH -- John Ryan Murphy reported to Spring Training expecting to take part in a long competition with Luke Maile for the job as Pittsburgh’s backup catcher. The race ended Friday, but in a way neither player wanted.

Maile is projected to be out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair his fractured right index finger. That means Murphy is expected to crack the Pirates’ Opening Day roster as the backup to starting catcher Jacob Stallings.

That reality set in on Saturday night, as Stallings caught the first five innings of Pittsburgh’s 5-3 loss to Cleveland and Murphy worked the final four innings of the exhibition behind the plate. When the Pirates lined up for team defensive drills on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park, Stallings and Murphy were the only two catchers on the field.

“I'm excited, personally, to step into that role. That's obviously a good thing for me moving forward,” Murphy said. “But you never want to see anything like that happen to anybody regardless of who they are or what position they play.”

Before the injury, Maile seemed like the favorite to land the job. The Pirates signed him in December, touted his defensive ability and gave him a spot on their 40-man roster. Then Maile showed more promise offensively than the Bucs may have expected during the first few weeks of Summer Camp workouts, all but officially locking up the job.

Murphy said the uncertainty about where he’d start the season was nothing new for him. Since making his Major League debut on Sept. 2, 2013, the 29-year-old has played 259 games for four teams over seven seasons. He’s never played more in one season than he did for the D-backs in '18, when he hit just .202 with a .619 OPS while totaling 223 plate appearances in 87 games. After suiting up for Arizona and Atlanta last year, he signed a Minor League deal with Pittsburgh in January.

“Honestly, it's been kind of my life going into Spring Training the last handful of years, so I would say I’m kind of comfortable,” Murphy said. “I've known I've had to earn a spot, regardless of the situation, in the last handful of seasons, so I took this season as the same. I had the same idea as soon as I signed with these guys in the offseason.”

Murphy is perhaps best remembered for having been behind the plate for Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera’s last appearance, and he’s known around the game for his defensive work. He ranked 11th in framing runs and 10th in fielding runs above average in 2018, according to Baseball Prospectus, as he caught 13 of Robbie Ray’s 24 starts that year. Last year, he spent the first two months of the season as Zack Greinke’s personal catcher.

“It would be different if it was someone we were bringing in from the outside, but both guys were with us in Spring Training,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Both of them have knowledge of our pitchers.”

Murphy made that a priority, watching video of the Pirates’ returning pitchers from the second half of last season. He wanted to get a feel for how they ended last year and what they worked on heading into Spring Training, and he picked Stallings’ brain to learn about each pitcher’s personality. Opening Day starter Joe Musgrove said Murphy is already “one of my favorite guys on the team,” someone who provides a calming presence behind the plate.

“Being the new guy coming in here, I really feel like I've been here longer than I have. That’s the easiest way to say it,” Murphy said. “[Pitching coach Oscar Marin is] an incredible communicator and he's been able to communicate everybody's plans on an individual basis. I feel really comfortable with everybody.”

As pleased as the Pirates are to have Murphy, Maile’s injury again revealed their lack of organizational depth at catcher. Next up on the depth chart would be Andrew Susac, another light-hitting journeyman who signed a Minor League deal over the offseason. The only other catcher in their 60-man player pool is Christian Kelley, who hit .179 with a .533 OPS in 80 games for Triple-A Indianapolis last season.

The Pirates don’t have any catchers among their Top 30 Prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. They didn’t draft any catchers this year, although they did sign defensive-minded backstop Joe Jimenez from Division III Chapman University as a non-drafted free agent.

“Anytime you lose catching depth, it dings you a little bit,” Shelton said. “But I’m really happy that we have Murph here to be able to catch.”