Report: Mets to Make “Legitimate” Offer to Daniel Murphy

Don’t donate your Daniel Murphy jersey to Goodwill just yet — one report says the Mets are getting ready to make an offer to keep the post-season hero in Flushing.

Adam Rubin over at ESPN New York writes that the Mets are “expected to make a legitimate bid” for Murphy. They think he might take a hometown discount to stay with the only organization he has ever known.

This is a bit of an odd move to me. On one hand, Murphy has always been a fine hitter, so why not re-sign him? On the other hand, why didn’t they do this sooner? There are other reports that say Murphy was open to negotiating a new contract during the season, only to be rebuffed by the Mets. If the Mets really wanted to re-sign him, it would have made sense to do it during the season when he had no other options. I’ll bet he would have taken a three-year, $30 million offer. Now that he’s a free agent and bigger offers are likely forthcoming, that would not get it done.

Maybe the Mets have changed their mind on Murphy. He altered his batting approach during the season under Kevin Long, resulting in more power (his 14 home runs were a career high). Then he exploded in the playoffs; maybe the Mets think Murphy is ready to be a 20+ homer guy. There are not too many second basemen out there with that kind of power.

If the Mets can land Murphy for a reasonable price, they should do it. But they should not overpay to the point where it damages their ability to go after other players. Dilson Herrera seems ready; if he is everything he is supposed to be (a big if), then the Mets do not need Daniel Murphy.