Twins trade John Ryan Murphy to Diamondbacks

The Twins traded catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Diamondbacks for minor-league lefty Gabriel Moya on Thursday, according to a club announcement. Murphy was assigned to Triple-A Reno.

Minnesota had five catchers on its 40-man roster after acquiring Anthony Recker from Atlanta as part of the Jaime Garcia trade, so it’s not a surprise they were willing to trade one. Recker, Mitch Garver and Chris Gimenez all remain as depth options behind Jason Castro.

Murphy, 26, has spent the entire season with Triple-A Rochester, hitting .222/.298/.330 with four homers in 59 games. He was originally acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade for Aaron Hicks.

Murphy will serve as minor-league catching depth behind Jeff Mathis, Chris Iannetta and Chris Herrmann for Arizona.

Moya, 22, was ranked by MLB.com as Arizona’s 25th-best prospect at the time of the deal. He has worked to a stellar 0.82 ERA and 14.0 K/9 as a reliever for Double-A Jackson so far this year, saving 17 games in the process. He could project as a setup man in the majors.