Chris Murphy Boston Red Sox Pitcher

       
 
Age: 27
Born: June 5, 1998
Birthplace: Mission Hills, CA
Height: 6-1
Weight: 185
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
   
Drafted: 6th round, 2019 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: San Diego
High School: Granada Hills (CA)
   

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Chris Murphy Photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: ---
First Pro Contract: June 12, 2019
Signing Scout: JJ Altobelli
Signing Bonus: $200,000
Rule 5 Draft Eligible: N/A
MLFA Eligible: N/A
   
Pro Debut: July 9, 2019 (Lowell)
Added to 40-man: November 15, 2022
MLB Debut: June 7, 2023 (BOS)
Service Time (1/25): 1 year, 81 days
Options Remaining: 2 (2023)
Contract (2025): $762,000
   
Twitter: @chrismurphy07
Instagram: @chrismurphy08

 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Left-hander with a medium frame. Not much projection remaining. Looks listed height and weight.

Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Atypical delivery with effort, but it works for him and he repeats it well. Starts angled toward the first base dugout on the middle of the mound, hands by his face, before sliding toward third base during wind-up. Swings arm behind with a medium leg kick before coming forward with above-average extension. Short arm action with a hook behind. Hides the ball well before delivery. Will spin and recoil on follow through.

Fastball: 92-94 mph, tops out at 96 mph. Potential above-average command profile. Ability to miss bats is dependent on command, as it is not an overpowering pitch. Designed to elicit weak contact primarily, but has shown the ability to dial it up at times. Velocity has ticked up a half grade since he returned from Tommy John surgery. Seems to have scrapped his sinker as well post-surgery. Potential average offering.

Slider: 84-88 mph. Short, two-plane break. Solid feel, able to land in the zone or bury for strikes. Tough pitch for left-handed hitters to read; starts right at their body before breaking across the plate. Potential average offering.

Curveball: 74-79 mph. Throws both a vertical curveball and sweeper. Able to get on top of and bury vertical curveball down. Pitch has depth and tight rotation when he snaps it off. Has been inconsistent in some outings during his rehab, but has flashed bat missing ability. Sweeper is a newer pitch to his arsenal but is also flashing potential. Potential above-average offering.

Split-Change: 79-82 mph. Has rarely thrown during rehab outings scouted in 2025. Prior to his injury, showed advanced feel and confidence in pitch. Will throw in any count to hitters on both sides, but more effective against right-handed hitters. Throws with the same arm speed as his fastball. Pitch drops off the table late. Really can pull the string on it and elicit lots of swinging strikes. Command can be spotty at times and will leave up in the zone on occasion. Potential above-average offering, but grade is fluid given he did not use it as much in rehab outings.
  Career Notes: Not drafted out of high school, but was recruited by several top Division I colleges in California. Played for Brewster in the Cape Cod League in 2018, struggling with control issues. Had a fairly impressive junior season at San Diego despite walking more than 6 batters per 9 innings. Pitching crosschecker Chris Mears strongly advocated for the Red Sox to select Murphy in the 2019 Draft. Cut down on walks dramatically after signing, reportedly due to minor mechanical tweaks. Participated in the Fall Instructional League in 2019 and 2020. Posted extreme splits in 2021, dominating left-handed hitters (.401 OPS, 0 HR) but getting hit very hard by right-handers (.914 OPS, 21 HR), but this did not carry forward, at least to that extreme. Participated in the Fall Performance Program in 2021. Participated in 2022 Winter Warm-Up. Added to the 40-man roster in November 2022 to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 Draft. Participated in 2023 Rookie Development Program. Placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the 2024 season with a left UCL sprain. Had Tommy John Surgery on April 10, 2024. Began a rehab assignment in late May 2025 and was activated on June 28, 2025.

Summation: Potential middle reliever. Ceiling of a multi-inning reliever or quality second lefty in a bullpen. Moved to the bullpen prior to his surgery and will stick there long-term. Stuff has been inconsistent since he returned, but both breaking balls have flashed bat-missing ability and fastball has looked better the more he has thrown it. Has had success against left-handed hitters, which gives him a floor at least of an up-and-down lefty specialist. Arsenal is still evolving as he seems to have scrapped his changeup and moved from a slurvy slider and cutter to a sweeper and gyro slider. Works hard, strong makeup.

Links
State of the System: Low Minors Pitchers (4.2.2020)
Scouting Report Update (8.12.2020)
Scout Chatter (11.30.2020)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.7.2023)
Notes from the Field (5.1.2023)
 
   
     
    Pitching Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age w l % era g gs sv ip h r er hr bb so whip k/bb k/9
2017 San Diego NCAA Coll --- 19 3 4 0.429 4.17 17 12 1 69.0 60 33 32 6 35 89 1.38 2.54 11.61
  2018 San Diego NCAA Coll --- 20 6 5 0.545 4.20 13 13 0 81.0 72 44 38 4 37 91 1.34 2.46 10.07
  2019 San Diego NCAA Coll --- 21 4 3 0.571 3.50 13 12 1 64.0 44 28 25 3 43 87 1.35 2.02 12.17
  2019 Lowell Spinners NYPL A- Bos 21 0 1 0.000 1.08 10 10 0 33.1 23 6 4 1 7 34 0.90 4.86 9.18
  2020 Season Cancelled --- --- Bos 22 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
  2021 Greenville Drive HAE A+ Bos 23 5 3 0.625 4.21 14 14 0 68.1 62 35 32 17 23 81 1.24 3.52 10.70
  2021 Portland Sea Dogs DNE AA Bos 23 3 2 0.600 5.45 7 6 0 33.0 30 21 20 4 13 47 1.30 3.62 12.80
  2022 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 24 4 5 0.444 2.58 15 13 0 76.2 46 28 22 6 31 91 1.00 2.94 10.68
  2022 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 24 3 6 0.333 5.50 15 15 0 75.1 77 55 36 8 41 58 1.57 1.41 6.93
  2023 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 25 2 3 0.400 6.32 15 9 0 52.2 63 41 37 7 31 61 1.78 1.97 10.42
  2023 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 25 1 2 0.333 4.91 20 0 1 47.2 50 27 26 5 17 49 1.41 2.88 9.25
  2024 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 26 ---  --- DNP INJ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
  2025 Greenville Drive SAL A+ Bos 27     stats                            
  2025 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 27     stats                            
  2025 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 27     stats                            
  2025 Boston Red Sox AL MLB Bos 27     stats                            
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  2017 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
Double-A Northeast Pitcher of the Week (August 16-22, 2021)
Eastern League Pitcher of the Week (June 20-26, 2022)
  SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (August 8-16, 2019)
2019 SoxProspects.com Rookie of the Year
2020 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (September 6-12, 2021)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (June 20-26, 2022)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (July 11-17, 2022)
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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