On Sunday, April 12th, 2009, left fielder Daniel Murphy drifted towards the warning track inside Dolphins Stadium in Miami, FL. Johan Santana was on the mound and just a few games into the season, Murphy was about to blow a game for the New York Mets with a big error. Josh Johnson would go on to pitch a complete game shutout while Santana got a tough luck 2-1 loss.
This April, that memory will turn 6-years old and surprisingly talks have once again surfaced about moving Murphy back to the outfield according to a report by Mike Puma of the New York Post.
“Mets officials have broached the idea with Daniel Murphy about possibly playing some left field in 2015, according to a club source, but the second baseman isn’t in favor of the idea, and the team isn’t expected to press the issue.”
However. Murphy says he hasn’t been approached yet according to Mike Vorkunov of the Star-Ledger.
“It doesn’t mean it’s not coming,” Murphy said. “It just means that as of Sept. 28 that’s nothing that’s anybody has come to me and mentioned to me.”
When asked if he’d be amenable to a position change if one were to be asked of him, he said, “You play baseball, you do what you’re told,” Murphy said. “That’s the easy part.”
Murphy has a .956 fielding percentage in the outfield , the lowest he’s recorded at any position in his career. In 2014, he was a .974 fielder at second base.
Murphy is expected to earn about $8 million in arbitration this Winter, leading to speculation about whether he’s played his last game as a Met.
Asked if he thinks he’ll be back with the Mets next season, Murphy said, “That’s a question probably for him [Sandy Alderson]. I want to be back. I know I got another year of control. People way smarter than me deal with that. …I just run out there and try to play as hard as I can.”
Murphy is one of many interesting story-lines that will unfold as we move into the winter months. He batted .289 this season and led the team with 172 hits, 37 doubles and 79 runs scored. Additionally, his .734 OPS was second only to Lucas Duda among qualifiers.
As he enters his third and final year of arbitration it should be noted that he and the Mets have always avoided arbitration the past. But the real question is whether he’s priced himself out of the Mets’ reach and is moved this offseason, or if he’ll be back at second base for the Mets in 2015.
