Mariners acquire catcher Tom Murphy from San Francisco Giants

Tom Murphy considers home upstate New York, where he grew up, but he’s recently been bouncing back and forth between several cities.

He has family in Phoenix, and has spent much of his time there while his MLB career has been in flux. He was recalled by the Colorado Rockies from Triple-A Albuquerque in September, finishing his season with the big-league club, and spending spring training with them.

Monday, Murphy was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants, but was designated for assignment three days later.

Friday, the 27-year-old catcher arrived in the Seattle’s clubhouse, after being acquired by the Mariners in a trade for minor-league pitcher Jesus Ozoria.

He could start behind the plate for the Mariners as early as Saturday night, manager Scott Servais says, to catch right-hander Mike Leake in the third of a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at T-Mobile Park.

“The last week or so has been a whirlwind,” Murphy said.

The Mariners announced the trade Friday morning, and optioned back-up catcher David Freitas, who started Thursday’s home opener, to Triple-A Tacoma to make room for Murphy on the 25-man active roster.

Murphy said he was watching reruns of “The Office” with his wife when he got the call Thursday night.

“It’s reassuring to me, myself and my career,” Murphy said. “So, I’m just very thankful for the opportunity, and thankful for these guys to stick their neck out and bring in a catcher at the start of the year that doesn’t know anything about anyone, and having faith in me. It goes a long ways.”

Murphy will primarily function as a backup to Omar Narvaez, whom the Mariners acquired during the offseason.

“He struggled to get an opportunity to play a lot, and didn’t get much going,” Servais said. “But, obviously our scouts had really good reports on him, thought it was an area that we could add some depth organizationally.”

Murphy is a right-handed hitter with power with a career slash line of .219/.271/.439 spread across 81 major-league appearances with the Rockies in split time the past four seasons.

He appeared in 37 games with the Rockies during the 2018 season, posting a .226 batting average (21 for 93) with 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs, and in 64 games with Albuquerque, posting a .258 batting average (61 of 264) with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs.

“He’s got power,” Servais said.

Murphy’s major-league profile is similar to former Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, who was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays during the offseason. In seven seasons, Zunino has a career slash line of .207/.276/.406 with 95 home runs, 86 doubles and 241 RBIs.

Murphy is projected to be used in opportunities to give Narvaez rest, and specifically against left-handed pitchers — like Eduardo Rodriguez, who the Red Sox will send to the mound Saturday. Narvaez, who bats left-handed, will face most right-handed pitchers.

Servais said it will take Murphy some time to get up to speed with the Mariners’ pitchers, having not seen them during the spring.

“Certainly we’ll try to give him as much information to get him up to speed,” Servais said. “But, you need the experience of getting back there and working with the different personalities, the different stuff, following our reports and how we’re trying to attack the other team.”

Murphy said he plans to watch film on Seattle’s pitchers to learn tendencies, as well as begin catching bullpens.

He has committed eight errors catching in 53 major-league games the past four seasons with the Rockies, and has a .981 fielding percentage for his career.

“As a catcher, it’s just getting to know these guys, getting to know how they tick,” Murphy said. “What they throw in certain counts, watching their video, making sure I know exactly what their game plans are against certain hitters — left-handed, right-handed — and just making sure that I’m on the same page.”

ENCARNACION HITTING STRIDE

Ahead of Friday’s second game against the Red Sox, Servais said he’s seen veteran slugger Edwin Encarnacion start to find a rhythm at the plate.

Encarnacion, who is the Mariners oldest active player at 36, had a slow start this spring, hitting just .121 (4 for 33) in 12 appearances.

But, he recorded his first two hits of the season — including knocking his first homer of the season 414 feet to center field — in Thursday’s home-opening win over the Red Sox.

Servais said Encarnacion looked more aggressive during the Mariners’ two-game opening series in Japan.

“I thought in Japan he was just starting to let it go a little bit, and I thought he looked really good yesterday,” Servais said. “His quality of at-bats were really good. And, one thing Edwin always does, is he doesn’t chase out of the zone too often. He has a pretty good idea of the strike zone, that’s why he’s a good hitter.”

Encarnacion, who has 264 home runs and 765 RBIs since 2012, is one of two major-league players with at least 250 home runs and 600 RBIs in that span, and leads all active players in those categories in that span.

Former Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz (254 home runs and 688 RBIs since 2012) is the other player.

Encarnacion also leads all active players in career home runs against the Red Sox with 33.

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 11:34 AM.