The Yankees have Brian McCann, Francisco Cervelli and Gary Sanchez. Do they need J.R. Murphy?
The Yankees sent catcher John Ryan Murphy down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, and the team is already receiving calls about a potential deal involving the catching prospect, according to CBS Sports' John Heyman.
Murphy didn't achieve a ton of success at the plate in his stint with the big league club, posting a .286/.308/.365 line across 65 plate appearances. However, his defense is his calling card, and that likely appeals to many teams who could see an opportunity to grab the Yankees catcher in the wake of the recent demotion.
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The Yankees already have current catcher Brian McCann signed to a long-term contract that extends through 2019, and top prospect Gary Sanchez will also be thrown into the mix in a few seasons. However, Sanchez is currently at Double-A Trenton, and he'll be stuck there as long as his slump going back to the beginning of 2013 continues. Considering Sanchez draws most of his value from his bat given his questionable defense behind the plate, the Yankees might be better served taking stock in Murphy, an established defensive catcher already.
Though it's unclear who has reached out to the Yankees so far, a possible team could be the White Sox, who showed interest in Murphy before and also happen to have a big hole at catcher. The Nationals also don't have much in the way of backup options for the oft-injured Wilson Ramos, which could come back to bite them come playoff time—if they even make it that far.
Murphy is clearly ready for the majors, so the Yankees are technically only losing potential value by keeping him in the minors. If the price is right, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team deal Murphy away, even if it isn't in their best long-term interest.