Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, shares some information from one of the Red Sox scouts who has been in the Dominican Republic and has observed Daniel Murphy.
The second base experiment with Murphy is a work-in-progress but “heading in the right direction,’’ according to a scout who spent a lot of time watching Murphy in the Dominican the past two weeks. “He’s a good enough athlete where he can pull it off,’’ said the scout, “but it will take time just to learn all the nuances of the position. I can see their thinking. He can hit. A sound player. This would be a nice conversion [from 1B/OF] for them at a position they need help at.’’
Offensively, Murphy is having a decent season and batting well over .300 with power. But of course we already knew he could hit, what’s most important is how quickly he can learn the new position and adapt well. I would imagine that with Ike Davis at first base and Jose Reyes at shortstop, the two of them have great range at their positions and can help a little with the transition.
Last week, Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins both said Daniel Murphy would be in the mix for the job at second base this spring.
For Murphy to win the job, all he has to do is field his position a little better than Dan Uggla can. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Hat tip to Mets Blog for the link.
