21
2013
Trading Daniel Murphy Could Benefit The Mets
An article by 
‘Spin Watch 2013 rolls on with another multi-hit game against the Houston Astros.
I don’t know how many different ways I can say “Jordany Valdespin’s numbers have been impressive this spring.” He’s now batting .348/.388/.996. He also leads the team in hits (16), home runs (4), RBIs (9) and runs scored (8). He’s been so impressive, in fact, that Terry Collins’ latest comments about the young out-second-field-baseman have been nothing but complimentary.
Joe D made a post about Collins’ optimism on Valdespin leading off as well as his attitude. It’s about time the guy gets some respect. Committing to him is the right move. Now it’s just a matter of where to play him in the field.
I have an idea. Are you sitting down? Trade Daniel Murphy and play Valdespin at second base.
I know. It’s such a blasphemous request for me to make. I think Murph’s a good player, but that’s a contributing factor in my request.
Last season, the Mets turned down an offer from the San Diego Padres that would have sent right-handed relief pitcher Luke Gregerson to the Mets for Murphy. At the time, I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but now it makes a bit more sense. Murphy for a bullpen arm sounds a lot more appealing these days—maybe an established left hander. I don’t doubt there’s a lack of desire for a guy like Murphy. That kind of move would give Valdespin the opportunity to develop into an everyday second baseman.
Collins alluded to Valdespin playing so well he could take Lucas Duda’s spot, which gives me this queasy feeling that they would trade Ike Davis, move Duda to first base and have Valdespin play left field. It’s a radical concept, but trading Murphy would eliminate that half-baked idea from my head immediately.
Despite the flak the Mets’ outfield has endured this offseason, I think freeing up another spot is a good thing. It gives the Mets a chance to experiment with some different outfield combinations. Every once in a while you can mix Valdespin into the outfield (to keep his 2B and OF eligibility in fantasy baseball).
Young guys seem to have taken the reins of the Mets. It’s looking like a modern take on a 1986 classic—a remix, if you will. The Mets have guys like Matt Harvey, who wants to win at all cost. They have top prospects like Travis d’Arnaud, who is slowly proving that he can hit Major League-pitching. They have guys that are proving they can be who we expected them to be like Davis and Jonathon Niese. And who could forget Captain America?
Valdespin has done everything we all could have hoped for thus far. Let’s hope he can keep it going.
About the Author: Daniel Nelson
Dan Nelson is a junior at San Francisco State University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Economics. He was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey where he grew up watching the Mets. Dan was also the recipient of the 2013/2014 Otto J. Bos Memorial Scholarship, the largest scholarship the SF State journalism department has to offer. You can follow him on Twitter @pacific_theme
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We don’t have to trade Murphy to make room for Vspin. Put him in Rf. Besides Murphy’s value would be squat.
Agree.
I’m thinking Byrd gets off to a good start but I don’t see him sustaining that.
Well it isn’t like the other OF spots are a lock so use Spins uh… versatility I guess you could say. Even though he isn’t very good defensively at any of the positions, hopefully his athleticism makes up for it. You can get him 4-5 starts a week between CF, RF and 2B.
Yeah, since the OF doesn’t project to be very good this year, might as well see if Spin’s bat is for real once and for all.
I’m pretty sure that his value is squat because, he’s a “Punch and Judy hitter”, can’t field, can’t run the bases properly, has no speed, no power, and lives on the DL. Other than that, he’s great! The most over rated Met ever.
Murphy has a .135 Career ISO…slightly below average, but not bad and he hits 35 – 40 doubles / year. He’s not the 2nd coming of Ty Cobb but he’s a good hitter…whom i think will hit for more power in ’13. Also, can’t trade him when he hasn’t had an ‘official’ AB yet this Spring!
I would like to see Valdespin play 2nd base and bat leadoff. He will have to develop more discipline to increase his on base pct. He has shown to be a flashy player at times reminding me of Jose Reyes. (not necessarily a bad thing). My question is why trade Murphy? Murphy can play 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base adequately, and would be a great pinch hitter as he has plate discipline and is a tough out. I’m sure that Murphy would accept any role the Mets gave him and wouldn’t cause any “clubhouse” issues. …of course we should listen to inquiries regarding Murph, but I doubt anyone is going to blow us away with a trade.
I personally don’t see the Mets trading Ike at this time. Especially not to replace him with Duda at 1st. The Mets have said in the past that for them to trade Ike they would need to replace that power somewhere and I don’t think they are confident Duda at 1st or for that matter Spin in LF can replace it. Unless Ike is part of some mega trade I don’t see Ike going anywhere anytime soon at least.
While trading Murphy may happen down the road I also do not think wise to trade Murphy based on what Spin has done in Spring Training.
If you look at the roster, the 2 places that make the most sense are CF and RF, since there is no one at all established for those spots. Not really worried about taking PT away from Byrd.
it would help the team even more if he could get on the field and play.
murphy as a sub is a fine idea (since he would likely be good in the role) but don’t see it happening. And I think yesterday said they weren’t considering him at 2B is Murphy starts on the DL (giving the job to Turner instead). So they either already have it planned to play him for real in the OF, or really dont think he can handle 2B. Or it was just Terry spouting nonsense again.
I agree with you 100%, Terry needs to start valdy , and our best bet is to continue to improve the bullpen and make this a playoff caliber team.
Why would the rebuilding Mets trade Ike Davis?
If Murphy plays like he has in previous seasons, plenty of teams will show interest either as a 1B, 2B, 3B, DH or super sub. He would be a value piece to any world series contender and could start or platoon for almost all of them…
I agree and disagree. The Mets aren’t trading Davis. However, Murphy’s trade value isn’t very high. I think last time the best offer we heard was for a middle reliever.
They certainly aren’t getting a top prospect for him, but that still doesn’t mean he has value.
Luke Gregerson is one of the better setup men in the league. If he has similar value at the trade deadline, we could get good player/prospect in return…
Doesn’t have value…
I guess. I would trade him if we could get a Murphy type RH OF.
I would rather have a young promising reliever in the mold of Edgin or Familia, or a speedy OF that can play LF or CF and bat leadoff as that will be more beneficial for 2014.
I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Mets will spend money on at least one of Ellsbury, Beltran, Choo, Pence, David Murphy or trade for a big time OF like Stanton.
Platoon Spin with Byrd in RF so maybe Byrd who is 35 years old will last longer this year before his age catch’s up to him or platoon him with cowgill in center or if Duda falls on
his face play him in LF, either way Spin should get lots of bats? Do not trade Ike Davis who
will hit 40 hr’s and drive in 100 plus rbi’s every year and is the corner stone of your team!!
Until Murphy starts playing everyday and shows he’s healthy no one’s going to trade you
a good player for him! Either keep him or trade him at the trading dead line if he’s healthy!!
No way the Mets trade Ike. Not in a million years. They know he’s a budding All Star with 35-40 HR potential and a good glove.
Valdy absolutely has to be on this team and has to play regularly. You gave the guy a shot in ST and he performed. Outperformed.
I’d keep him in the OF. He’s not great defensively but he’s young, he’s got some speed, and he provides potential pop and definite excitement at a position that otherwise might be an automatic out in the lineup. Stick him in RF.
I still think Valdespin’s most value is at 2B as I don’t believe Flores is capable of playing the position. From what I’ve seen his range is just brutal and foot speed cannot be improved with more experience.
Valdespin is not going to play every single game to start, but between 2B and all 3 OF positions he should wind up with at least 4-5 starts a week and the games he doesn’t start, he will be subbed in at some point…
The biggest key to our OF is Duda. This is his last chance to prove he can be a middle of the order threat and if he can’t then he’ll be shipped out by this time next season…
I just think we might be underselling Flores. Just got to give him some time first.
actually, his foot speed and range were just fine this spring training…and he has a steady glove..
he has 10x more of that than our starting 2011/2012 2B….and more pop….
mind u…I am one of the irrational Daniel Murphy fans…in a perfect world we trade DW for prospects or move him to OF to make room for Murph at 3B….
the money u save on Wright is used to extend Murph and Tejada and Ike and …..
Disagree. I saw at least 3 plays that even Murphy would have made that Flores couldn’t reach or couldn’t reach quick enough and allowed an infield single.
If this kid adds any more bulk, he’ll be too big and slow for the middle infield. The kids a 3B and if he hits well enough he’ll be a great trade piece to get an OF.
thats because Murphy plays in shallow RF half of the time, Flores looks like Roberto Alomar at 2B compared to Murphy.
people said the same stuff about Cal Ripken Jr…. a natural 3B who played SS….and they said the same stuff about Ryne Sandberg…a natural 3B who played 2B….those guys went from positions that require less range, to more range
Flores is a SS moving to a position that requires LESS range.
What the mets need to do is make a LONG term decision and STICK with it.
If the mets treated Wright the way they did Murphy or Flores or Valdespin, I think his performance would’ve suffered both offensively and defensively.
The way they have treated these guys is proof positive that not much has changed.
Flores has no range though. When he gets to the ball he can make the play, but the guy can barely move out there.
I don’t think people realize how slow Flores is. Despite the fact that he’s only 21 and he came up as a SS, he has Lucas Duda/Ike Davis speed.
Range is about reflexes/reaction. If you have a race, most everyone is equal the first 2-3 steps. It’s steps 5-6 where speed comes into play. Baseball range is a natural instinct as soon as a ball is struck. Flores has the range to play SS, so he could easily transition to 2B. Please refrain from misinformation.
Ike Davis should not be traded. With all due respect to Lucas Duda, his upside as an overall player is well below Ike´s.
As for Daniel Murphy, he´s one of the most underappreciated Mets players in quite a while. He also probably is the toughest out in the Mets lineup – even if his power numbers leave something to be desired and he had a down year offensively in 2012. His defense at 2b made major strides over the course of the 2012 season.
Unfortunately, Murphy´s trade value isn´t all that high. He´d be best as a versatile utility player on a good team that can play him at 1b, 2b, 3b and DH, plus PH vs. RHP,
As long as the Mets have their current outfield alignment, there´s plenty of room for Valdespin to get plenty of playing time and to prove he belongs in the majors. If the trade market for Murphy picks up – or he gets too expensive for a non-core player via arbitration, Valdespin may still move back to 2b (assuming Wilmer Flores doesn´t emerge there in the meantime).
No thanks. Valdy has had a great spring, but making radical decisions off spring training stats is silly. ST stats don’t predict the future. Trading Murph just to trade him and open up a roster spot isn’t the way to go. We don’t even know what Valdy is yet. And as is, its not like the roster is so great that there is no room for Valdespin to play. They can put him in the OF.They don’t need to trade Murph in order for JV to play.
If Valdespin continues the performance into the regular season AND the Mets got a very good offer for Murph than yes maybe it would make sense to make a trade. But you don’t trade one of the better hitters on the team right now, just to trade him so that a guy who had a good ST can play.
Murphy will not be a Met in 2014 so its inevitable that he will be moved. Hopefully he can get us something useful at the deadline…
You heard it here first. Unless of course he has a terrific 2013…
Why make this baseless predictions now?
because the Mets finally have prospects and young players and they are not going to pay Murphy 5 million or so to keep him here.
I don’t see any scenario where he’s a Met in 2014. If he has a good year he’s traded and if he has a bad one he’s non-tendered…
You think he will get a 2M raise? I guess maybe?
another year like last year, and most likely he will.
OMG, Spin is tearing up ST…Please take a valium, count to ten, and think long and carefully before anointing anybody based on a March performance in the tropics. Pahhhhleeeezzzee.
If you wrote this column at the end of May–other things being equal–it might be sensible.
OMG, Spin is tearing up ST…”
Fair enough, but at least he’s facing MLB competition, unlike certain player who adopted a cool nickname for beating up on PO’s.
But your agenda only allow you to see what fits your comment right?
Let me be clearer, Alex: judging how could a rookie like Valdespin will be throughout the 2013 season based on his fine ST performance is utterly foolish. There’s my agenda.
awesome…now lets apply that to Cowgill….
of course
Spin’s ST numbers are great, but we need to see it in the regular season. Same for Cowgill and all others. I have been in the play Spin and bat him leadoff camp since before ST, since they have no other legit candidiates. Spin has accomplished what he needed to this spring – outperforming everyone else – which he rightly or wrongly needed to do with his “rep”. This is his chance, and the Mets need to ride it out. It would be better at a set position, and 2B would be that best position, but until someone else forces the issue, Spin needs to leadoff every day, at least vs. RHP, and we’ll find a position for him. While Murph is solid if unspectacular on offense, the team has a bigger need for a leadoff hitter.
that applies to any guy without a track record. Certainly can be enough to win a job at an open spot, but you don’t trade a starter to make room for them.
and note that I am talking about guys that were not monsters or top stud prospects in the minors (like when the Phils trade Thome to make room for Howard). That is a different situation (consider the select guys like that to have a track record!)
I have no problem trying to trade Murphy, but you should be able to get more then a bullpen arm for an every day player. Remember how Pagan for Rameirez worked out
erratum, “how good”
I’m almost certain Murphy’s going to get traded this season and it will probably hurt me worse than the Dickey trade. And I damn near threw up when that happened.
quite possible, but I think more likely after the season, unless some too good to be true (so unexpected) offer comes in at the deadline.
would of course require Murphy to be having a strong year, while someone else (Spin?) Flores?) is banging on the door to make him redundant.
though I doubt many people will be bothered as much by a Murphy trade as they were with Dickey!
Spin should really be starting in rightfield, I understand they want Byrd in the line up and he is having a good spring but he is 35 and can still come off the bench and play vs lefties. Cowgill needs to be in this line up just as much as Spin does. Only bad thing about Spin in right is he has a weak arm, he is probably better suited for left field. If Duda flops SPin will probably be in left eventually. To start the outfield should be Duda, Cowgill, and Spin. If COwgill struggles vs righties you can always adjust and platoon out there when captain Kirk is ready or move Spin to center and use Bryd in right in the short term. Either way Byrd should not be starting in right, this should be about getting Cowgill and Spin at bats and see if they can have success on a regular basis.
I am sure Spin will be in RF much of the time. Byrd will be closer to Hairston’s role. Plays somewhere against LH and pinch hits.
Why not trade both? As it is right now, we need another OF and we can use another SP for depth purposes. Package Duda in a trade for Lucas Harrell and like I’ve said, go after Craig Gentry. It improves a couple of areas defensively.
Craig Gentry would be an excellent CF for us, but I’m not sure Texas would have a reason to move him, especially with David Murphy in a contract year.
Hopefully den Dekker learns some plate discipline so we can pencil him in as the everyday CF going into next season. Then that’s one less position we need to spend on then…
I read an article last night that Den Dekker’s plate discipline has gotten better. The problem now is that he’s taking too many pitches. If Texas doesnt wanna trade Gentry, I dont know why they’re putting him out there. A trade of Gentry would actually give the Mets more reason to bring Den Dekker up north since Gentry can only tear apart LHP.
When you consider his AAA and ST numbers, I don’t see how anyone can say his plate discipline is improving.
He’s going to be a 150+ K guy no matter what, but at this rate he looks like he could be competing for Mark Reynolds’s record.
I don’t care how good he is defensively you can’t have a guy in the lineup batting around .200 and striking out every 3-4 AB…
Reynolds? Can’t see Den Dekker being that bad. Reynolds is a complete hacker and will swing at anything. Position wise, you could’ve said Stubbs, but again, not THAT bad.
Den Dekker currently has a higher k% in the minors 25% than Reynolds did 23% so it’s not inconceivable that at the stage of his development Den Dekkar could challenge him in the strikout department.
Jordany Valdespin should play 2B. The Mets would benefit greatly from his gap power and speed playing the infield. I love Daniel Murphy, but he doesn’t have a position outside of 3B and be isn’t seeing significant time there. You don’t win with a 2B like Murphy. You definitely could with Valdespin.
I agree, at least until Flores is ready. Only then could you move Valdespin back into the OF. I’m still not 100% about Byrd, so that would open up a spot for Valdespin.
Byrd should be selling peanuts in the stands. He serves no purpose on this team. Go with the kids.
Exactly. All he is is just filler.
In an off year Murph ripped 40 doubles. While he sucked for a while at 2nd, he’s improved mightily. Spin was not an impressive IFer from what I saw. I’d be careful with the hasty decisions here. Spin was not very impressive as an everyday player. While I surely hope he turns out to be the second coming of Tony Gwynn and Ozzie Smith, I’d go into 2013 without the seemingly wild expectations you appear to have.
“Spin was not very impressive as an everyday player”
When exactly did he even get a chance to be an everyday player last season, especially when he was raking?
Just look at his numbers when he did get those chances–not impressive. However, I am not judging a kid at this age. What I am saying is, let’s see what he can do. I am all for giving him the chance given the players comprising the misery that will be the 2013 Mets. I do want to see Spin get every opportunity.
The only reason for that was because Collins was completely ass backwards with Valdespin all last season. When he was hot, he was still on the bench. When his momentum wore off, he started. It made no sense. Despite his “attitude” and whatever drivel was made of Valdespin, I believed he could be a key player, and his showing in ST is of no surprise to me. Now that he has a starting opportunity wrapped up (most likely starting at 2nd until either Murph returns or Flores takes over full time), indeed we will see what he can do during the season.
I’ll tell you what I saw from Valde last year….
In BIG moments….Moments where he could do something REALLY good…he DID something REALLY GOOD!
And when he got up to bat when it was nothing special (as a starter knowing regular PA were coming)..he did nothing special…
And My assesment is twofold there….
1) the kid plays really well when he plays UP….and can be a Hero
2), When there was no reason to be UP he probably tried a little to much to do something GOOD and as a result lost control of his swing and it cost him….TRYING to be the Hero.
He WANTS to be a Hero…and he LOVES it when he is….
I think thats where most of his ATTITUDE situation comes from and if you ask me it’s not a BIG issue because in time if he is the HERO enough he will get used to it and settle down because it becomes normal for him…no longer a HERO act!
Daniel why I don’t have a real issue with the premise I do say the timing is not right to tyrade Murphy just yet….
No one is going to trade anything worthwhile at this point in the season because they are not looking to dump anyone if they were they would have done it already…
The best move would be to wait until the Stanton Sweepstakes start…
Murphy could be a good piece in whatever that package has to be (not enough by himself mind you).
I personally think Murphy is one of the key components of the Fire the Mets showed the last two years…So I’m not all too excited to let him go but for the right player in return he DOES totally fit what constitutes a good trade chip…Has pretty good track record in the MLB, There is a kid in our system that can slide right into his 2B role and probably even improve it with his glove and if he can hit as well as Murphy then you lost nothing…
But I don’t think it’s time yet to start looking to make a trade…
Better to save up the chips to see what can be had later in the season where a MUCH better player will require multiples and that player could be the piece that can truly make 2014 something to look forward to.
Too soon right now.
Metsie,
I wouldn’t expect the Mets to trade him now. I agree it’s too early. He at least needs to get healthy, but when that happens I think he should be on the block. I’m not sure if the Mets can put together a legitimate package that they’d be satisfiedth letting go for Stanton, but they coufinitely get some worth in the form of a relief pitcher or another outfielder. I just think if Murphy can come back from injury and produce like he’s capable of, the Mets should deal him before the deadline.
like I said I agree that Murphy definitly has Trade Value and more than many people here may even give him credit for…
We all agree that a trade is needed at some point during the season or soon after to get this team contending again.
And we have a lot of pieces TO trade but many of them SHOULD not because it’s thier hope we are counting on to say a trade could help in the first place….
So we should not trade Wheeler or d’Arnaud for whatever it is we trade for.
SO the Elites being untouchable we will have to come up with a multitude of lesser but more established players to trade off in any deal we make.
Murphy is a good candidate he has a decent track record with the bat, is not as HORRIBLE at 2B as many make him out to be and even if he was can still play 1B.
I think Duda if he gets it together could be a pretty significant pice as well…
Snydergaard could be the Young RANKED PROSPECT every trade needs to include as would Flores who is less ranked but still pretty promising for someone who needs an IF. He sure has no place to play here unless they trade Murphy and play him at 2B (what to do with Valde then?)
We are going to need to send multiples for whoever we intend to target in a trade that can REALLY solve our lack of RH power bat….
So Murphy (as you suggested) is a pretty good chip towards that.
It will take more than him but we have a lot of kids and players here that could make up the difference…
DenDekkar is starting to make adjustments and get big hits…IDK, this kid could be our opening day center fielder.
Only if he can get a platoon partner.
that would be cowgill.
I meant another RH option, hence the Gentry mention.
Cowgill is RH.
Again, ANOTHER RH option.
I would suggest that before you “pen” these type of articles that you think a bit more carefully!
First off, talking about a trade you would have liked/disliked to make last year is absurd.
Secondly, who are you going to get for Murphy now that he has not been active for a month and who might well be on the DL on opening day! Right now, our revamped bullpen should be given a shot to succeed before any more arms are brought in. Murphy would not be enough in a trade to get a for sure light’s out closer!
Third….Murphy has become a much better second baseman. Valdespin would need to improve a lot to reach Murphy’s skills there.
Yes, Valdespin has had a very good spring and seems to have changed his attitude. He will most likely make the 25 man roster heading north but once Murphy is healthy he will be the second baseman while Valdespin competes for some outfield.time! .
I will take your thoughts and suggestion into very deep consideration.
Valdespin can’t handle second base. Yes he had a good spring but I think a little out of sight out of mind is taking place here with Murphy not playing most all the spring. The Mets invested a lot in Murphy learning second base as did he with the injuries. Murphy has improved greatly there and he is a critical bat in the line up. Sure in the short term you look at Valdespin’s record and say he has power, great spring etc. He is the type if player that is valuable to a team coming off the bench. He’s versatile in the field. He’s able to pinch hit which is extremely hard and he can spot start. He’s one of those players that’s best not starting everyday.