What Should the Red Sox do with David Murphy?

(Photo Source: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images North America)

By: Forrest Mulheron

The Boston Red Sox will have some serious questions to answer before this Sunday when David Murphy's opt-out date arrives. 

Boston inked Murphy to a minor league deal in late-February that included an opt-out date of March 27th. Murphy stated earlier in the week he would likely retire over taking a minor league assignment at this point in his career, so now the Red Sox must decide if they have room on the 25-man roster for the veteran outfielder or are they willing to let the former 2003 first-round draft choice walk. 

Although Murphy has looked good this spring, his .276 on-base percentage and .633 on-base plus slugging percentage leave a lot to be desired. At 34 years old, it is hard to imagine the Red Sox trading away one of their young star outfielders to make room for Murphy - but that doesn't mean they are completely out of options. 

Rusney Castillo has minor league options that could be taken advantage of, giving Murphy the chance to start the season on the big league roster while Castillo continues his seasoning in Triple-A. 

The big downside to this option would be the $11.2 million Castillo is owed this season (not to mention the $12 million the Red Sox have already paid him) and the fact he has only played in 85 major league games over the last two seasons. Boston made a big investment when they went out and got Castillo and at some point are going to have to give him a chance to prove he can compete in the major leagues - unless they are willing to eat a major part of his salary and trade the unproven outfielder.

The Cleveland Indians have recently been rumored to have shown interest in the Red Sox young outfielders - specifically Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. Although it would be impossible to picture Boston trading Betts and almost nearly as impossible to picture them trading the gold-glove caliber Bradley Jr - this could be Boston's chance to unload Castillo's largely disappointing contract if they were willing and give Murphy a spot on the team. 

Although he has shown some promise this spring and the Red Sox have potential moves they could make to put him on the big league roster, it appears most likely that Murphy will retire after the Red Sox offer him a minor league assignment on Sunday. Murphy hasn't started a game in nearly a week and hasn't exactly turned many heads while in the lineup. As good of a story as it would have made, the Red Sox will be smarter to see what they have in Castillo and Bradley Jr.