One of the big stories that came out of yesterday's double-header sweep of Boston College and Northeastern was the signing of former Boston Red Sox outfielder David Murphy. Murphy was drafted by the Sox in 2003 and made his major league debut in 2007. Murphy along with Kason Gabbard were traded to the Texas Rangers on the July 31st deadline for all-star closer Eric Gagne. Murphy, like Brandon Moss the following year, was simply caught up in the numbers game. The Sox outfield was set with Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp and JD Drew with Bobby Keilty and Eric Hinske off the bench. Later on that season saw the emergence of rookie Jacoby Ellsbury as well.
Should the Sox have kept Murphy? Actually, no. Even though Ramirez was traded in 2008, he was traded for Jason Bay who lasted until the end of 2009. Coco Crisp lost his job to Jacoby Ellsbury who held on to the centerfield job amidst injuries until 2013. JD Drew held onto the right field job amidst injuries until he retired after the 2011 season. Murphy ended up becoming an everyday player for Texas immediately and later the Los Angeles Angels. He would have been a platoon or bench player in Boston had he stayed around, so it was better for his career that he went elsewhere.
Most fans say it was a bad trade because Gagne totally sucked in Boston, joining Julio Lugo on the list of guys the Sox won the World Series with in spite of. Actually, the trade was the right move to make at the time. Gabbard was never a top prospect and took advantage of hot hitting to go 5-0, upping his value. In essence the Sox gave up an above-average outfielder which they had plenty of and a 5th starter for what should have been an all-star closer. It was the right move to make, it just didn't work out. Gagne was a bust but the Sox had Jon Papelbon so it wasn't the worst thing that happened. Think of the Sox trading Mark Melancon (and others) for Brock Holt and Joel Hanrahan. Melancon became one of the top set-up men for Pittsburgh in 2013 before becoming their 50 save closer last year. The Sox got 3 seasons of The 6th Man Hitman Holt (so far) and 7 innings of Joel Hanrahan (who was paid 7 million for those 7 innings). Also it helped the Sox had Koji Uehara who had one of the best seasons in baseball history in 2013, becoming virtually unhittable from June all the way to October where he was ALCS MVP. The Sox have a habit of making trades that launches others into stardom (Murphy, Melancon) while winning the world series anyway (07, 13).
Does Murphy have a chance to make the team? It would take an injury to Rusney Castillo or a hitting collapse by Jackie Bradley Jr for that to happen. Murphy does hit right handers well, which compliments Chris Young who hits lefties well. A Murphy/Young platoon for one year wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, especially with last year's top prospect Andrew Benitendi on the rise. Unfortunately, that would mean the Sox essentially paid Castillo 72 million dollars to help the 2014 Gulf Coast and Pawtucket Red Sox win their respective league championships. Or it would mean JBJ couldn't hit his weight. Still, too much depth is always better than not enough. Murphy does have an opt-out clause at the end of Spring Training if he doesn't want to play for Pawtucket at 34 years old if Castillo stays healthy. Having Murphy in Pawtucket would certainly help them out, but that's not the ultimate goal unfortunately.
Personally I think its a good, low-risk, low cost move. If Bradley can't hit or Castillo can't stay on the field, you have Murphy/Young ready to go. Murphy has hit .274 lifetime and he may be past his prime, but one more good year from the team that drafted him would be a nice storybook ending.
