Second baseman Daniel Murphy arrived to camp for the Washington Nationals on Sunday and said he feels very comfortable in his new uniform after spending seven years with the Mets.
“I know this red feels pretty good,” Murphy told reporters. “I like that part of it.”
Murphy jokingly said he feels like he’s always known his new teammates. “A lot of them get on base a lot, so I saw them at second base quite a bit.”
“It felt like Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth, all those guys were coming through second. So I saw them a lot. You get to speak with them before the game at batting practice. You get to know them in passing. I’m really excited to get to know them at a more intimate level, on a day-to-day basis than 18 times a year.”
Murphy, 30, signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Nationals after batting .281 with 38 doubles, 14 home runs, 73 RBI, and just 38 strikeouts in 538 plate appearances. He had a historic run in the postseason for the Mets, homering in seven straight games, scoring 13 runs and posting a 1.115 OPS in 14 games.
In a report by Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Murphy came to camp with one message for his new clubhouse. “Let’s get it on. We’ve been waiting for this for four months… Now it’s just a matter of going to work.’’
Asked what his goals were for the season, “To win,” Murphy said emphatically.
