The Giants announced Monday that they’ve declined catcher Tom Murphy's $4 million team option for 2026. Murphy will receive a $250,000 buyout and is now a free agent.
The Giants hoped Murphy would be able to serve as the ideal right-handed-hitting complement to two-time Gold Glove winner Patrick Bailey, but the 34-year-old veteran couldn’t stay healthy after signing a two-year, $8.25 million deal in December 2023.
Murphy appeared in only 13 games in 2024 due to a knee injury and then missed the entire '25 campaign after hurting his back during Spring Training. He was away from the Giants for virtually the entire year, as he ended up returning to his home in upstate New York to rehab.
Andrew Knizner finished the year as Bailey’s backup and will be arbitration-eligible this winter, but he hit only .221 with a .598 OPS and one home run over 33 games. The Giants could try to pursue more catching depth this offseason, though they have another intriguing internal option in Jesus Rodriguez, a 23-year-old Venezuelan who is ranked the club’s No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Rodriguez, who came over from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade, batted .307 with a .796 OPS and seven home runs in 124 games between Double-A Somerset, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Triple-A Sacramento this year. The Giants added him to their taxi squad in late September, which gave him an opportunity to be around the big league pitching staff and work with catching coach Alex Burg on refining his skills behind the plate.
Like Knizner, Rodriguez is already on the 40-man roster, so he should have a chance to compete for the No. 2 catching spot during Spring Training.
"All reports were that Jesus is really solid behind the plate,” president of baseball operations Buster Posey said last month. “He does not have a ton of experience behind the plate, but he’s a hard worker. Great aptitude from what I’ve been told. He’s a guy we’re excited about. But again, we’ll remain open to other options.”