While Daniel Murphy has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Mets this postseason, two team sources tell Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that the club still isn’t planning to bring the second baseman back in 2016. “He’s been great, really great, but it changes nothing,” one of the sources said.
It has been assumed for months that the Mets would install Dilson Herrera or Wilmer Flores at second base next season, with Murphy signing elsewhere as a free agent due to his ever-growing price tag. “If they are keeping their payroll in the same neighborhood, they can’t afford to keep him,” one rival GM said. “He’s making $8 million now, will probably get a bump on that and he’s going to want some years….They already have all that money invested in Juan Lagares ($22.5 million) and Michael Cuddyer ($10 million) who are both back-ups now. You can’t keep your payroll under control like that.”
Such news won’t be welcome to Mets fans, who have been annoyed by the team’s lack of spending for years as the club has rebuilt around young talent (or, according to some critics, been unable to spend due to the Wilpon family’s financial losses in the Bernie Madoff scandal). There has even been speculation that the Mets may not issue a qualifying offer to Murphy, as the team is reportedly willing to let Murphy leave without getting a draft pick in return rather than risk him accepting the one-year, $15.8MM contract. I polled MLBTR readers on the subject last week and only 27.94% of voters felt the Mets shouldn’t make Murphy a qualifying offer.
Murphy hit .281/.322/.449 with 14 homers in 538 PA in 2015 and has a .291/.331/.421 slash line over the last five seasons. It was already unlikely that he would accept a QO given the lack of top-flight infielders on the free agent market, and it’s probably totally out of the question now given his playoff heroics. Murphy was hitting .320/.320/.840 with four homers in 25 PA during this postseason heading into tonight’s Game 2 of the NLCS, and in his first at-bat tonight, he added to his hot streak with a two-run homer off of Jake Arrieta. In a sign of just how feared Murphy has become this October, he was intentionally walked in his second at-bat to get to Yoenis Cespedes.
While it’s a small sample size, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that Murphy’s playoff run is impressing observers. One scout says that Murphy “has been on everything, pulled for power more than I can ever remember and made me start to think if you put him in the right stadium would some of all those doubles he hits every year turn into 20-plus homers annually?”
Sherman hears from various executives and agents that Murphy may now be looking at a deal in the neighborhood of the four-year, $52MM contract Chase Headley signed with the Yankees last season, and perhaps more since Murphy has more positional versatility than Headley and is one of the league’s best contact hitters. (Speaking of Headley, Sherman adds that the Padres offered Luke Gregerson to the Mets during the 2013-14 offseason for Murphy, who they saw as a possible Headley replacement.) Those executives also made guesses as to where Murphy could sign this winter, with the Astros, Angels and Dodgers coming up as the most-cited options.
I’d make Murphy a QO and hope he declines it (which he will). The guy just isn’t that good. Hes only topped 2 WAR one time and that was 4 years ago. If you can find a better way to hide him on the field other than 2B, maybe his bat is worth it.
If you know a guy is going to decline a QO there really is no reason not to make him one.
Here’s a great idea…. let’s talk negatively about the guy carrying your offense through an unexpected playoff run….
“sources” could be janitors for all we know.
It’s sad how negative and pessimistic the Mets are about… Well… Everything.
Cannot afford to resign Murphy. Cannot afford to resign Cespedes. No money to sign free agents. Thoughts of trading Harvey for his personal concerns of his arm. Unwilling to give out a QO due to money constraints. Unwilling to sign long term deals after Wright’s health problems.
Just saddening.
It is shocking that the Mets are considering choosing not to make a QO. This should be a nobrainer. With the extra revenue from the playoffs,just a sad reflection on their strategic thinking if indeed they fail to make the QO.
It really is a failed strategy. Mets should give Murphy a QO just so they can try to get their draft pick back after spending it on Michael Cuddyer.
I would love to see if the O’s could fit Murphy onto the roster.
Murphy at third maybe.
Machado to Shortstop.
Trade Hardy.
Would work for me.
I like it but I have hard time seeing somebody taking on Hardy unless there was some serious financial compensation.
The Mets had a similar tough decision to make in ’86. They let series MVP Ray Knight walk and gave 3B to Howard Johnson.
Longtime Philies Phan here…. Congrats to the mets fans.. The Mutts are surprising the heck out of me this off season. Good luck the rest of the way, up 2-0 over the Cubs, they are in a nice position. GL … until next year of course :)
They love Dilson Herrera, so this shouldn’t come as a shock.
If they insist on staying in the 110-120 million range, then the money earmarked for Murphy should go to Cespedes. They need OF production much more than IF right now.
They also have a ton of MI prospects who should be ready in the coming years.
I don’t want to agree with jlatimer11’s post…but he is spot on. Murphy is well liked on the team and gives 100% effort (albeit sometimes to a fault bc of mistakes), and he obviously is delivering thus far in the playoffs. I’d *love* to have him as insurance for Wright, while being able to fill in for Herrera and Duda. He could get 400-500ABs between the three spots. Unfortunately if the Mets continue to be under payroll constraints, the $ for Murphy is best spent elsewhere.