The Diamondbacks have gotten decent production out of their three catchers, or at least the two they added in the offseason. Jeff Mathis has been a strong defensive catcher and has helped Greinke pitch as the Ace this year while providing a decent amount of offense every now and then. Chris Iannetta has had a big season where a surge in power numbers and a decent walk rate has him hitting above league average. Chris Herrmann has regressed to his pre-2016 numbers at the plate, although some of it has been bad luck and also bad batted ball skills.
The Diamondbacks elected to have a controllable catching piece to the roster with Iannetta set to be a free agent after the year and Herrmann a non-tender candidate. They acquired Twins catcher John Ryan Murphy, who has been the entire year in AAA, became expendable when his production at the plate did not translate after getting traded from the Yankees to the Twins. A move to Arizona and one of the more hitter friendly stadiums in Chase Field could help, although he won’t likely see an opportunity until September. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Dbacks moved Yasmany Tomas to the 60-Day DL so there is a good chance we won’t see Tomas again in 2017.
The price for acquiring Murphy was AA lefty Gabriel Moya. Moya has been dynamite out of the bullpen for the Generals, constantly showing up in the minor league recaps for quality pitching with a 0.82 ERA and a 68/12 K/BB in 43 2⁄3 innings at the Age of 22. With Jared Miller on the cusp of the majors and a conglomerate of LHP that profile as relievers in the upper minors, the Dbacks could afford to make such a deal even for a guy whose put up great numbers in his career as a reliever to address a position of weakness in the organization.