The Rockies have considered the possibility of signing Daniel Murphy to play first base, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Mets did, of course, extend Murphy a qualifying offer. The Rockies’ top pick — fourth overall — is protected, although they would have to give up their Comp Round A pick he rejects the qualifying offer and they sign him.
The timeline of the Rockies’ interest in Murphy is unclear, but if they’ve seriously considered signing him, it’s possible they could be planning to make a surprising impact this winter. Murphy doesn’t figure to be cheap — MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts he’ll get four years and $56MM. The market at first is rather thin, though, and Murphy does figure to be less expensive than the top first base option, Chris Davis, who should get at least twice as much. Korean slugger Byung-ho Park is another possibility, although it’s not yet clear which team won the rights to negotiate with him.
The Rockies headed into 2015 with Justin Morneau topping their depth chart at first base, but they declined their mutual option on him after he hit .310/.363/.458 in 49 games but struggled to stay healthy. Ben Paulsen ended up playing at first for much of the year, but the Rockies’ interest in Murphy suggests they won’t be wedded to Paulsen as their starting first baseman.
Murphy, of course, figures to draw interest from any number of teams, many of whom want him to play second or third, where his bat will have a greater impact. (The average first baseman last year hit .259/.336/.444, not significantly worse than Murphy’s .281/.322/.449, although Murphy did hit in a tough home park.) It will be interesting to see whether the Rockies are willing to pay a premium for Murphy’s bat (and postseason heroics) when other teams might be able to get better value from him by having him play elsewhere on the diamond.
From World Series to last in NL West. I have a near impossible time seeing him even considering such an offer from them.
It’s all about the money. Mets got lucky they made it to the w.s. Their pitching is good but we saw what happened when they pitched to a good fastball team.
And the schools
Yes. It is mostly about the money. It could also be about the numbers in Coors Field, which also could lead to more money down the road. As for moving from an N.L. championship team to a last place club, well it’s not like Murphy had been on a contender in New York throughout his 7 year career. In fact, 2015 was his first in the postseason and 2014 was the only other year in which the Mets finished above .500 during his time there.
I’m sure he’ll consider that but these guys are trying to cash in.
Money talks
Bad idea. Murphy is a one year NY wonder. They would over pay and not get their money’s worth.
he’s definitely not a one year wonder. His power streak in the postseason was out of the norm, but his average was definitely not and he could easily hit more homers and have a higher average in Coors
He has been a consistent slightly above average hitter through his career. 2015 was no different, his Beltran like post-season made him a household name.
Murphy will also turn 31 before opening day next season and would lose a good amount of offensive value if he were to move to first base. Among second basemen, Murphy’s 110 wRC+ in 2015 was eighth out of the 26 second basemen who had at least 450 plate appearances. However, that 110 wRC+ would’ve put Murphy just 19th out of 27 first basemen, taking him from well above average to **well below average** relative to his positional peers.
A .290 career bat in New York is a .310 bat at least in Colorado. He might win a batting title
Murphy will also turn 31 before opening day next season and would lose a good amount of offensive value if he were to move to first base. Among second basemen, Murphy’s 110 wRC+ in 2015 was eighth out of the 26 second basemen who had at least 450 plate appearances. However, that 110 wRC+ would’ve put Murphy just 19th out of 27 first basemen, taking him from well above average to well below average relative to his positional peers.
No need to pay decent money to a 31 yo guy to play 1b when they won’t be in contention for a while. Might as well use Paulsen and Rosario. Murphy may not even be a league average 1b going forward.
I’m sure he and his camp feel his value is too high to jump at the first opportunity, to play for a last place team and change position for market money. Rockies would need to clearly overpay. The whole idea is a bit of a head scratcher.
Perfect ballpark for his bat. Loads of doubles and triples, would be an early favorite for batting title.
I want to make a few things clear. As a met fan I have seen Murphy play. The man can flat out hit. Doubles machine. He is now developing power. He could get 50 doubles and 15 to 25 homers a year. He’s versatile and can play first, second and third. He’s a good clubhouse guy.
A 30 year old isn’t going to randomly add an extra 10 doubles and 5-10 home runs to his career highest in a year. It just doesn’t happen that way.
As for his versatility, yes he can play a few positions, but that doesn’t mean its even an average defender there. He was average at 3B, below average at 2B and while he rated well at 1B, it was hardly enough innings played there to make a conjecture on how he’d play as an everyday player at 1B.
Murphy certainly could in Coors Field and might also in Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field where he could play 3B or 2B.
He is one of the best contact hitters in the majors. He was one of the hardest guys to strike out. His power came from an adjustment made w. the Met’s hitting coach. His change was mostly mechanical, so yes…at 30 he can change. Dude is a solid hitter and mediocre fielder….and can play 2-3 positions well enough to be a younger Zobrist. Yeah yeah…WAR…it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Umm.. LeMahieu and Arenado are both better, and hes not that much of an upgrade over whatever Paulsen or Rosario will give you with significant time at 1B.
Mixed in with the fact that Murphy just isn’t that good of a baseball player.
Heck, Andres Blanco topped Murphy in WAR last year.
With the fact that they were considering murphy tells me that they are looking at 1st base free agents which says that they probably won’t keep rosario.
Rosario will be gone by either trade or more likely non-tender. That’s pretty much a foregone conclusion for most Rockies fans. Just another guy that had quite a bit of value that the Rockies waited too long to move. That being said, I REALLY hope that the Rox don’t sign Murphy.
Nolan is arguably the best at his position. Him and Donaldson. Murphy isn’t going to blow you away but in that stadium he could probably hit 30 homers. Shoot I’m 5 food 8 and 195 pounds. I’d at least hit that much. La may is being Overated by you.
Ever heard of Manny Machado?
Murphy’s career high is 14 HR. Playing half his games in Denver isn’t going to double his HR production. 20 HR I could see but he’s not a HR hitter, his playoff heroics aside.
Daniel Murphy makes some sense for the White Sox. The team is woefully short on power and is in definite need of a starting third baseman and perhaps a second baseman as well.
Chicago has internal options at 2B, one who has potential as a dynamic offensive force in speedster Micah Johnson and another in Carlos Sanchez who is an exceptional defensive player. Their options at 3B are limited internally and the overall FA market appears thin with Murphy heading the class along with David Freese.
I can see the White Sox interest in Murphy as a free agent, even at MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes 4yr/$56M prediction. The club’s first round 2016 draft pick is protected again this off-season and they figure to receive a compensatory first round pick for FA Jeff Samardzija this winter which would offset the loss of their second round pick for signing Murphy. Murphy, who will be 31 in April is a couple years younger than Freese. His offensive numbers are also more consistent while Freese’s have been on a steady decline since 2012. Murphy’s power also figures to play well in hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox preferred choice might be to trade for their next core third baseman, perhaps even matching up with their city rivals for Javier Baez in a package deal involving some of the Sox young starting pitching. Baez would of interest to the Sox at 3B, as well as SS until top prospect Tim Anderson is ready for prime time. The Sox have organizational depth in young starting pitching and may even be willing to deal Jose Quintana in a bigger package deal with the Cubs.
“The team is woefully short on power”
Murphy is not a power hitter, though. He’s a 10-12 HR per year guy.
Q is signed for 5 years on a very team friendly deal. Bigger package is an understatement.
UGH! I knew someone would pay too much money for Murphy after his postseason success. I had no idea it might be my team and moving him to a position that lessens his value even more is just gawd awful. Murphy is a solid second baseman with the bat, but if you move him off second, his bat just isn’t strong enough for a position that depends on the bat like first base.
Well, not like Paulsen is that strong either. I guess he’s cheap though.
His best position is 2B for batting, marginal bat for 3B, and below avg power for 1B. I like him as a player (even though he can be a space cadet in the field sometimes). Evidently he is a great clubhouse too.
I don’t get the appeal. He’s not as valuable playing first, and his bat is just adequate for that position. murphy’s probably going to get a big contract, but it’s possible the buyer will be disappointed. Useful player, not exceptional