Wednesday’s 5-2 defeat at the hands of Washington’s overpowering Stephen Strasburg dropped was the Mets’ 12th loss in their last 13 games, a stretch typified by almost complete inaction on the part of GM Sandy Alderson, save for the demotion of Lucas Duda/promotion of Matt Harvey. If there was no sense of urgency on Alderson’s part prior to the All-Star break, there’s even less now that his club has disappeared from contention with alarming speed, but the New York Daily News’ John Harper argues the GM, “needs to get more creative this time around and make a deal in which he is essentially both a buyer and seller.” And with that in mind, Harper’s got IF Daniel Murphy’s bags packed and ready to go.
Major League sources say Murphy’s has been already out there in trade discussions. One source says the Mets have already rejected an offer from the Padres of reliever Luke Gregerson (above) for Murphy.
That alone is intriguing, considering that Gregerson, a 28-year-old righthander, seems to fit the bill as a solid reliever who could upgrade the Mets’ bullpen immediately and be under their contractual control for the next two seasons as well.
Going into Tuesday night’s action, Gregerson was 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA, and has had streaks in the last couple of seasons where he has been dominant. This season he had a few rough outings in May that ballooned his ERA to 4.57, but since May 30 he has allowed only four runs in 24 appearances.
In any case, the Gregerson offer is evidence that there is solid interest in Murphy, and as hot as the Mets’ second baseman has been lately, hitting .443 over his last 21 games before going 0-for-3 Tuesday night, his value right now is probably as high as it will get.
And while the Mets would miss Murphy’s bat, it’s hard to believe that Alderson sees him as the answer at second base.