Daniel Murphy had a very strong 2015 season for the New York Mets and has had an amazing postseason run. That might not be enough to keep him with the Mets after this season, however.
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Murphy Unlikely to Be Re-Signed By Mets
Monday, Oct. 19
According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, “Two team sources said again Sunday that Murphy, despite his postseason heroics, is not in the Mets’ future plans.”
“He’s been great, really great, but it changes nothing,” one of those sources told Ackert.
Murphy, 30, is a free agent in the offseason and is likely in line for a pretty substantial deal after his epic October. He’s hitting .357 with five home runs, seven runs scored and eight RBI in seven games this postseason, has homered in four straight games and has helped lead the Mets to a 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
According to Ackert, however, the Mets see Dilson Herrera as their second baseman of the future and feel confident that Wilmer Flores can play the position until Herrera is ready to seize the reins. While Murphy can also play first and third base, one rival executive doesn’t see the Mets paying a premium for him, per Ackert:
If they are keeping their payroll in the same neighborhood, they can’t afford to keep him. He’s making $8 million now, will probably get a bump on that and he’s going to want some years. They already have all that money invested in Juan Lagares (4 years, $22.5 million) and Michael Cuddyer (1 year, $10 million) who are both backups now. You can’t keep your payroll under control like that.
The Mets have a lot of young talent they’ll want to contractually control for years to come, so losing veterans like Murphy seems like an inevitability. While Murphy has proved to be an October star and could fuel the team to a World Series run, his days with the Mets appear to be numbered.
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