White Sox address bullpen depth by moving catching prospect for Red Sox lefty Chris Murphy before 40-man roster deadline.
As Tuesday’s 40-man roster deadline approached, teams across Major League Baseball shuffled rosters and completed a handful of minor trades.
The Chicago White Sox joined the activity, dealing from their surplus at catcher and sending prospect Ronny Hernandez to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-handed reliever Chris Murphy.
Murphy, 27, was a sixth-round pick by Boston in the 2019 MLB Draft. He debuted in 2023 and emerged as a steady bullpen arm in 2025, posting a 3.12 ERA over 34.2 innings across 23 appearances. His 53.8% ground-ball rate last season ranked among the better marks in the league. He also flashed even stronger underlying metrics during his 2023 stint before missing the entire 2024 season following Tommy John surgery.
Armed with a deep seven-pitch mix — highlighted by a four-seam fastball and curveball — Murphy also uses a sweeper, splitter, changeup, and sinker to keep hitters off balance. The White Sox will control him for the next four seasons, with arbitration beginning in 2027.
The acquisition also fits a trend for the Sox, who continue to prioritize pitchers with versatility and movement profiles that align with Brian Bannister’s developmental philosophy. Murphy’s ability to generate ground balls, miss barrels, and navigate multiple innings gives Chicago another option in a bullpen that has lacked consistency and depth. With the team seeking cost-controlled pitching, this type of move checks several boxes.
Hernandez, 21, played 82 games for Low-A Kannapolis in 2025, posting a .679 OPS across more than 300 at-bats. It's a negligible loss for the White Sox, who are overloaded at the catching position with Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Korey Lee already occupying 40-man spots.
This move trims the logjam and adds a controllable lefty who fits the timeline of the organization’s rebuild with an emphasis on ground-ball pitching.
Murphy has allowed a .644 OPS to lefties in his career, so a specialist role is on the table for him in 2026, but he is already an early leader to land a spot on the Opening Day roster.
It's interesting to think about how adding another lefty in the bullpen possibly impacted Chris Getz and the decision made regarding key prospects, the 40-man roster deadline, and the looming Rule 5 Draft.
Chicago selected the contracts of Duncan Davitt and Tanner McDougal on Tuesday, but left a handful of other prospects - including lefty Shane Murphy - unprotected and exposed.