December 8
Unless the Mets acquire an offensive minded shortstop this offseason, the Mets do not intend to shop or trade second baseman Daniel Murphy, according to Adam Rubin.
Considering that the Mets will have to deal at least one of their top three young pitchers to acquire a shortstop of that caliber, it’s very likely that Murphy will begin the 2015 season with the Mets.
The Giants asked again about Murphy today, according Andy Martino, but were told “the Mets are inclined to keep their second baseman.”
December 4
While trying to assess the market for Daniel Murphy, Joel Sherman of the NY Post checked in with three different teams that are known to be shopping for a lefty bat who could play second or third base. All three team executives he spoke to essentially said the same thing – the Mets currently appear to be uninterested in dealing Murphy.
Sandy Alderson may simply hang onto Murphy because he is more valuable to the Mets than he is to other teams which are reluctant to give up much for him.
“Even in a market hungry for offense — and with some teams willing to forgo defense to get it — the Mets have not heard much to entice them.”
The Mets may just keep him and see how the market looks next July. In the meantime they’ll try to trim payroll by trading one or two of Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese. They’ll also be able to get a better read on Dilson Herrera and Matt Reynolds who will both start the season in Triple-A Las Vegas.
Last week, Alderson told ESPN New York that he is not particularly interested in working on a contract extension with Murphy, so this latest news shouldn’t be viewed as a sign that the Mets are considering him beyond the 2015 season. The way I see it, the Mets aren’t interested in selling low on Murphy and their gambling interest will pick up by the next trade deadline.
Alderson recently spoke highly of Murphy before the weekend, telling Andy Martino of the Daily News “he’s a good player who will be an important part of our team next year.”
This all could change of course, if a team were to make the Mets a solid offer this Winter, but for now there’s little to no buzz at all surrounding Daniel Murphy.
By the way… One of our writers, Ed Leyro, pointed out an interesting fact about No. 28. In his last 5 seasons, Murphy has averaged 36 doubles a year. If he gets 36 for the Mets in 2015, he’ll rank No. 2 on the team’s all-time list.
(Updated 12/3)
