New York Mets Rumors: Should the Mets Bring Daniel Murphy Back to Flushing?

The New York Mets need an offensive force in their lineup. Would it be a good idea to bring Daniel Murphy back to Flushing?

The New York Mets will see a familiar face hit the free agent market this winter. Their old friend, Daniel Murphy, finished off his season in the NL Wild Card game as the Chicago Cubs lost to the Colorado Rockies. Murphy was traded to Chicago on August 21 as the Washington Nationals threw in the towel on another disappointing season.

Prior to signing with the Nationals, Daniel Murphy was a fan favorite with the New York Mets. He wore orange and blue from 2008-2015.

Inevitably, questions about a Murphy/Mets reunion will soon begin to swirl. The Mets are in need of a bat, especially with Yoenis Cespedes set to miss a significant chunk of 2019, but is Daniel Murphy the right player to bring into the fold?

This is a very tough question to answer… I would love to see Murphy back in a Mets uniform. His grit and grind attitude was very fun to watch.

Murphy’s bat to ball skills and aggressive attitude made him a good player while with the Mets, and helped him turn into an All-Star while with the Nationals.

Seemingly propelled by his 2015 Playoff success, Murphy hit 25 home runs, drove in 104 RBI and slashed .347/.309/.595 in 2016 as a member of the Nationals. The lefty won a Silver Slugger award and finished second in the NL MVP voting.

Murphy’s production dipped slightly in 2017 and then fell off significantly in 2018. The slugger missed the club’s first 63 games of 2018 while recovering from microfracture surgery that he had on his right knee. In his shortened season, Murphy hit 12 home runs, drove in 42 runs and slashed .299/.336/.454.

These numbers are still highly respectable, they just aren’t Murphy’s “Prime Nationals” level of production. A clear separation can be seen when you analyze his wRc+.

Murphy had a wRc+ of 154 in 2015 and 135 in 2016. In 2018, Murphy saw that number drop down to 110. These numbers are more in line with his “Mets” level of production. In Murphy’s seven seasons with the Mets, the slugger averaged a wRc+ of 111.

Any team should be cautious when approaching a player in Murphy’s situation. He is aging, coming off a down year, and has shown to have bad knees. These are all troubling signs.

Murphy’s already questionable mobility will only continue to get worse as he gets older. If I were the Mets, I would be sceptical about investing a large sum of money into Murphy as he seems destined to age into a first base or designated hitter type of role.

From a roster standpoint, the New York Mets don’t even have a place to play Murphy. Jeff McNeil has earned a shot to play second base and first base is already backlogged with Jay Bruce, Dominic Smith, Peter Alonso and maybe even Yoenis Cespedes. While they could play Murphy at third, the team already has money invested in Todd Fraizer, a contract that can’t easily be dumped.

Murphy is also not a good fit for the Mets’ lineup. The Amazins’ are in need of a right-handed bat. Their lineup already consists of Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and Jay Bruce, all left-handed hitters. The Mets need a right-handed slugger that can balance out their lineup until their anchor, Yoenis Cespedes, returns to the field.

As fun as a New York Mets/Daniel Murphy reunion would be, it just does not seem destined to happen. Daniel Murphy will be a plus to any team, it is a shame that it will not be with the New York Mets.