He attended Riverside Polytechnic High School and Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa, California,[1] and was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 5th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft.

[6][7] On December 14, 2009, Murphy signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins with an invitation to spring training.

Continuing to play with the Marlins in a utility role, Murphy's season was cut short on September 1 when he dislocated his right wrist on a tough catch in the fourth inning.

On July 27, he was recalled by the Marlins after a trade sent Hanley Ramírez and Randy Choate to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Nathan Eovaldi and Scott McGough.

Murphy ended the year with three homers, six doubles, two triples, 12 RBIs, nine walks and one stolen base while batting .216 in 116 at-bats.

[17] Murphy hit a career-high 11 home runs in 2013 with Chicago, leading to him signing a one-year deal worth $825,000 with the Cubs after the season.

On February 23, 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays hired Murphy to be their new hitting coach for the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts for the 2016 season.

[25] After spending the 2019 season as the hitting coach for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Murphy was named the manager for Dunedin on January 31, 2020.