FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Veteran outfielder David Murphy, who started his career with the Red Sox, is coming back on a Minor League contract, the club confirmed Monday evening.
The deal includes an invite to Major League camp and is pending a physical, but there are no clear openings on Boston's roster for Murphy, a left-handed hitter. Murphy arrived at the Red Sox's Spring Training facility early Monday evening.
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"I know that there's a lot of talk about him," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "I don't know that it's finalized. We've got some steps, I believe, to go through, before it becomes official."
The Red Sox have a projected starting outfield of Rusney Castillo, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts and an established veteran off the bench in right-handed-hitting Chris Young.
Left-handed hitters Brock Holt and Travis Shaw can also play the outfield.
The addition of Murphy gives the Red Sox some protection in the event Bradley and/or Castillo struggle at the plate or there is an injury to an outfielder.
Murphy was selected by Boston in the first round of the 2003 Draft. He played the first 23 games of his Major League career for the Red Sox before being traded to the Rangers, along with lefty Kason Gabbard, on July 31, 2007, in a deal that brought Eric Gagne to Boston.
The 34-year-old Murphy is coming off a solid season -- split between the Indians and Angels -- in which he hit .283 with 10 homers, 50 RBIs and a .739 OPS in 132 games and 391 at-bats.
Primarily a platoon player during his career, Murphy has a career average of .274 with 104 homers and 472 RBIs.
Murphy spent most of his career with the Rangers before going to the Indians in 2014.