If Tom Murphy is not ready by Opening Day, offseason addition would slide into his role

Tom Murphy's start to spring training will be delayed due to a mild oblique strain. He is only expected to miss up to 10 days. If for some reason, he is not ready by Opening Day, Sam Huff would slide into the backup catcher role for the SF Giants.

If Tom Murphy is not ready by Opening Day, offseason addition would slide into his role

Given Murphy's extensive injury history, the Giants need to at least consider alternatives for the start of the year. Outside of Murphy and Patrick Bailey, they only have a handful of catchers in camp.

Huff is joined by veteran backstop Max Stassi and Logan Porter. Stassi has extensive experience behind the plate and his profile is more similar to Bailey's in that he is an excellent framer.

The Giants signed Stassi to a minor league deal earlier in the offseason. He had only appeared in five rehab games over the past two seasons as he tended to both personal matters and a hip injury.

Stassi is healthy this season and is in the competition for a spot on the roster. However, Huff likely gets the nod because he is on the 40-man roster already and is out of options.

Teams do not like to burn depth right away, so the Giants would begin the season with Huff as the backup catcher rather than give Stassi the nod.

Plus, Stassi grew up in Northern California, and playing in Sacramento would allow him to be close to his hometown. He has more than six years of service time and finished last season on Chicago's 40-man roster, so his contract does include a few automatic opt-out dates. The first is five days before the start of the year followed by May 1 and June 1.

If Murphy does land on the injured list near those later two dates, there is a good chance that Stassi gets the call at that point.

In the meantime, Huff would emerge as the primary backup until the Giants exhaust that option. The right-handed bat makes loud contact, hits with power, and strikes out a lot. He is adequate defensively for a backup catcher and has the profile to fill that role.

This is all a moot point if Murphy returns soon enough and can get ready for the season in time. It does not hurt that the Giants have a backup plan just in case.