Daniel Murphy’s name has been featured frequently pages of MLBTradeRumors in recent weeks, but it sounds like he probably won’t be changing uniforms in the next few days. Mets assistant GM John Ricco told Tim Rohan of the New York Times that the club hasn’t had any recent talks on the second baseman.
“We haven’t specifically talked about Dan recently,” Ricco said. “He is one of the more valuable guys we have. He leads the league in hits. He’s settled in as one of the best second basemen in the game, certainly offensively, and is a leader on our team.”
When asked if the Mets were worried about the perception if they traded Murphy, Ricco said, “It depends what the return is,” which Rohan takes to mean that a deal would be better received if they got more immediate help rather than prospects who are a few years away. The 29-year-old is enjoying his best season to date, hitting .300/.351/.421 with seven homers through 83 games.
Ricco also indicated that the Mets have yet to decide if they’ll be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. However, comments from GM Sandy Alderson yesterday seemed to indicate that a sell off could be close as he said the next 10-12 days will be vital to that assessment. If they do sell, however, Alderson says that they’re not likely to move left-hander Jon Niese.
Of course, the Mets could instead lock up their second baseman for the long haul. Our own Steve Adams recently looked at what a new deal for Murphy might look like.
