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Last offseason the SF Giants signed catcher Tom Murphy to serve as the backup for Patrick Bailey. Farhan Zaidi was president of baseball operations at the time and the signing only looks more misguided as time goes on.

The Giants got some injury updates recently, and one of them was that Murphy is going to be on the shelf even longer as he recovers from a herniated disk in his back. Giants beat writer Alex Pavlovic reports that Murphy is going to be reevaluated in six weeks for his injury.

SF Giants really messed up by signing catcher Tom Murphy

The Murphy signing made sense at the time. Bailey was the clear starter after his solid 2023 campaign and it seemed like the Giants were ready to move on from former top prospect Joey Bart after he had struggled to find any consistency at the big league level.

After the Giants signed Murphy to a two-year, $8.25 million contract, it all but cemented Bart’s exit in San Francisco which eventually resulted in him being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Murphy played in just 13 games for the Giants in 2024 and recorded four hits before he went down with a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.

He came into camp in 2025 as the favorite to be Bailey’s backup, but his herniated disk made the backup catcher competition wide open. Sam Huff emerged victiorious in that competition but he has not done a ton for the Giants, recording seven hits in 37 at-bats.

Meanwhile, Bart has earned the starting catcher job for the Pirates and is slashing .291/.411/.379 with one homer and ten runs batted in. It does seem like Bart needed the change of scenery in order to flourish, but in light of Bailey’s intense struggles at the plate this season it is not out of bounds to look back and wonder whether getting rid of Bart was a mistake.

What cannot be debated is that signing Murphy was a mistake. Obviously, it is no fault of Murphy’s that he has been injured a lot. He must be more frustrated than anyone that he cannot be out there helping the team.

Yet, fans are still going to be frustrated with Zaidi for making this head-scratching move that could have ramifications for the Giants for years to come.