John Ryan Murphy Traded For Intriguing Lefty Reliever

Acquired following the 2015 season from the New York Yankees in exchange for Aaron Hicks, John Ryan Murphy started the 2016 season with the Twins. When he didn't hit in the first month, he was sent down to Rochester where he has spent most of his time since.

He has been very good defensively (elite-level pitch framer), but the 25-year-old backstop just was not able to reach the offensive potential that was assume when he spent parts of three years catching for the Yankees.

As Nick pointed out shortly after the news came out, this would explain the addition of Anthony Recker in the Twins/Braves trade earlier this week.

https://twitter.com/NickNelsonMN/status/890611421985161216

While this trade may not be a page turner, a Mark Feinsand tweet from a bit ago may create further discussion.

https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/890605061272780802

In Moya, the Twins get a young pitcher who has worked solely as a reliever in his career. This year at AA Jackson, he is 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA in 34 outings. In 43.2 innings, he has issued just 12 walks and struck out 68 batters.

Jeff Wiser is the preeminent Arizona Diamondbacks prospect expert. Find his work at Inside the Zona. Here are his thoughts on Gabriel Moya:

Moya is a pitchablity over stuff kid at present. The fastball isn't overwhelming, but he can throw it for strikes and gets ahead of hitters. The changeup is special and is easily his best offering. Hitters don't see good changeups very frequently in the lower levels of the minors, explaining some of his success. He's held his own and exceeded expectations in AA, however. Facing AAA hitters could provide a bigger challenge, guys that have professional approaches and have seen some quality changeups in the past. He's been pretty dominant to date, but given his size and raw stuff, it's prudent to remain slightly skeptical until he faces better hitters. He's proven he can handle AA, and if it all breaks right, he could end up a solid middle reliever.

From Darren Wolfson:

https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/890622910305492992

According to Baseball America, Moya had the Best Changeup in the Diamondbacks minor leagues.

Here is a scouting report from 2080 Baseball from before this season:

Quick Hit: Not an overly physical kid, Moya does have some strength to his medium-sized frame and manages to get very good swing and miss despite just average velocity. The arm works very well, and he has excellent body control throughout the delivery that helps him get out front on a consistent basis. The changeup is his best pitch, with a chance to be plus with hard bottom that plays up due to the small crossfire and easy arm action. The fastball is pretty straight and in the low 90s, but it is sneaky quick and gets on hitters.

He handled both righties and lefties and showed very well in his first full season above rookie ball. Historically, he has done a great job keeping the ball on the ground, but saw the fly ball rate spike a bit once he moved to High A. But he only gave up two bombs in 44 2/3 innings in the homer-happy Cal League and the low hit totals (5.4 H/9 in 2016 across Class A and High A ball) remained consistent. Expect him to head to Double-A in 2017 and if he repeats his success there, could be ticketed for Phoenix later in the summer of 2018 with eyes on him being a solid sixth-to-seventh inning contributor.