Catcher Tom Murphy and the San Francisco Giants finalize $8.25 million, 2-year contract

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Catcher Tom Murphy and the San Francisco Giants finalized an $8.25 million, two-year contract on Saturday, a deal with a 2026 team option that could make the agreement worth $12 million over three seasons.

Murphy gets $4 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Giants have a $4 million option for 2026 with a $250,000 buyout.

After adding South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee with a $113 million, six-year contract, the Giants brought in a veteran behind the plate who could share time with Patrick Bailey following his stellar rookie season on defense. Blake Sabol served as a backup in 2023 but can also play the outfield and could be used more regularly at Triple-A Sacramento with the addition of Murphy.

The 32-year-old Murphy spent the past four years with Seattle after playing his first four major league seasons for Colorado. He batted .290 with eight home runs and 17 RBIs over 47 games for the Mariners this year, his season ending Aug. 14 because of a sprained left thumb.

San Francisco has missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons after winning a franchise-record 107 games and the NL West in 2021. The Giants tried without success to acquire Shohei Ohtani, making a final offer Zaidi called “very comparable if not identical” to the record $700 million, 10-year contract the Japanese two-way star agreed to with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Murphy will make a $20,000 annual donation to the Giants Community Fund in 2024 and ’25 and, if the option is exercised, in 2026.

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