Written by Liam McGuire at Bloguin
We are about to enter the free agent frenzy that is the MLB offseason. Hundreds of millions (and probably into the billions) of dollars will be thrown around, players will join new teams, and fans will react in excitement or agony with the new pieces their club has acquired. It’s not all positive, however, as under the pressure of adding players, general managers can throw around ridiculous money and overpay players badly.
Here are three players who could get overpaid this offseason.
Daniel Murphy
Murphy’s going to get serious money. The question is – how much?
Murphy looked like he was on his way to a huge contract after homering in six straight games, playing the best baseball of his life against the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. He crashed his rising stock with an ugly World Series, as hit bat regressed, and he made multiple costly errors costing the Mets mightily as the Royals took advantage of his mistakes. But despite his struggles, he’s still a hot commodity.
What teams should expect is a slightly above average second baseman, with a little bit of pop, who can field second adequately. He managed a career-high 14 home runs in 2015, but that’s probably as good as it gets in terms of power. He’s an excellent contact hitter, striking out only 38 times in 130 games, but doesn’t draw a ton of walks. There are a lot of teams who could use that, but he’s not a star player. The second base market crop is strong this year, with Howie Kendrick, Ben Zobrist, and Asdrubal Cabrera all available. Teams will spend big to nab one of them, Murphy included.
The Mets plan on extending a $15.8 million qualifying offer his way, which he will surely decline. He could see a payday in excess for $12-15 million per season spread over three or four years, which is a heck of a price to pay for someone slightly above replacement level. He’s 30-years old and isn’t going to improve with age, so buyers should be beware they aren’t getting peak-Murphy.
To continue reading this article, click here
