There has been much discussion between fans and the Mets’ brain trust alike on whether or not this will be Daniel Murphy‘s last season in a Mets uniform.
Coming off his first all-star season last year in which Murphy slashed a very respectable .289/.332/.403 with nine home runs and fifty-seven RBI’s, Daniel is back at it again so far this year.
In 53 games in 2015, Murphy is batting .281/.335/.411 in 192 at-bats. After a slow start, Murphy has went 38-for-111 the last month. (.342 BA)
His .289 career average is 29th best among active players with 3,000 plate appearances, and Murphy has consistently been among the league leaders in hits the last couple of seasons, and surely will be again this season.
However, the elephant in the room is Murphy’s frequent mental blunders defensively and the number of errors he commits.
Last year, Daniel’s 15 errors at second base were the worst in all of baseball.
In 2012 and 2013, Murphy made 15 and 16 errors at second base respectively, which were both second worst in all of baseball.
Even so, Murphy is worth bringing back beyond this season.
Back in September, Joel Sherman suggested the idea that the Mets should use Daniel Murphy as a “super utility” man, similar to that of Ben Zobrist, where he would still get regular playing time, but just at many different positions.
Sherman points to the fact that with Murphy shifting between starts at second base, third base, first base, outfield and designated hitter in interleague games, he can still accumulate at least 300 at-bats.
And that is without the possibility of injury, which we know has become very prevalent with the Mets so far this season. In that case, Murphy can be a “500 at-bat safety net.”
I like this idea a lot. With David Wright being diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition that he is going to have to cope with the rest of his career and also life, his future and durability is really up in the air.
Wright has appeared in all of 8 games this year, and has been sidelined almost two months so far. With no timetable for his return, he’s probably going to be out at least a month more.
If you bring back Murphy next year, you have someone who can slide right into Wright’s spot at third and produce offensively. Also, third base is Murphy’s natural position, so the errors will be much less of a problem.
Also, the idea of Murphy being a super utility man would give Dilson Herrera regular playing time at second base, who the Mets seem to view as their future, and Buster Olney thinks can be an all-star within three years.
Murphy is making $8 million this year, and is set to hit the free agent market for the first time this offseason, where he will surely walk away with a much larger sum of money, but in my opinion, is a valuable asset to the Mets going forward.
