Daniel Murphy had another huge night at the plate in last night’s 7-0 win over the Padres. Murphy collected four hits in five at-bats, including his 13th double of the season and fourth home run. With the fantastic night at the plate, Murphy raised his batting line to .286/.337/.418, back to almost exactly what he’s done over the past three seasons.
Since an absolutely awful month of April both at the plate and in the field, Murphy has been on a tear. Since the beginning of May, Murphy is slashing .352/.397/.472 with two homers, seven doubles, and 15 RBI. Over his last ten games, he is hitting .447/.488/.605 with 17 hits in 38 at-bats.
“Nothing Murph does surprises me,” Terry Collins said after last night’s game. “I mean I’ve seen him do it before. I’ve seen him have a night where you shake your head. The next night he puts four or five of the best swings you ever seen on balls and he squares them up. That’s why he’s dangerous.”
Murphy’s hot streaks brings to the surface once again the quandary the Mets will face with him over the next two months. The 30 year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of this season, and there has been no news about the two sides even discussing a contract extension.
If Murphy is able to put up another typical Daniel Murphy season (essentially what his batting line is right now), he has the leverage to get a sizable multi-year contract if he were to hit the free agent market. Martin Prado, a very similar hitter, signed a four-year, $40 million deal a few years ago, which is probably similar to what Murphy could get. Seeing how stingy the Mets have been in recent years, I just can’t see them putting up that kind of money for a player like Murphy, especially with Dilson Herrera waiting in the wings.
It seems like the Mets are more than willing to just hand over the job to Herrera, who has, potentially, much more power than Murphy and is probably a slightly better defensive player.
If this is the route the Mets are going to take, Murphy is suddenly a pretty valuable trade chip. If Herrera comes back and hits well, perhaps the Mets can put together a package of Murphy, one of Gee and Niese, and a prospect or two to get a hitter on the trade market. Oddly enough, it seems like Murphy’s hot streak is not only helping to keep the Mets afloat, but is perhaps also giving the Mets more firepower to get the slugger the lineup so desperately needs.
