Murphy to second base? (split from 9/3 IGT)

[Benjamin Grimm]

bmfc1 wrote: Perhaps the reporter was thinking of Murphy's assignment to the Arizona Fall League where he will play 2B.

I hadn't heard about that. That's a great idea.

[Guest AG/DC]

I think you are disqualified from AFL eligibility after X number of at-bats in the show.

Doesn't mean there isn't a winter league he can play in.

[Benjamin Grimm]

He could probably play in Puerto Rico, couldn't he?

[Guest OlerudOwned]

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/about/?league=afl&id=player_elig

]No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.

[Benjamin Grimm]

So Murphy should be okay for Arizona then.

I'd like to see Nick Evans there too, playing some outfield.

[soupcan]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ="bmfc1"]Perhaps the reporter was thinking of Murphy's assignment to the Arizona Fall League where he will play 2B. I hadn't heard about that. That's a great idea.

I like it too, but with an eye towards what...?

I suppose it just creates more options.

[Benjamin Grimm]

soupcan wrote: I like it too, but with an eye towards what...?

Giving Castillo something to worry about.

[bmfc1]

http://mlb.mlb.com/documents/2008/08/27/3376107/1/2008_AFL_Rosters.pdf

(Note the misspelling of Binghamton.)

He's on the Peoria roster. It doesn't say "2B" but he's listed as an infielder and he moved to 2B before his call-up. (Cerrone said this--it's not an original thought.)

http://www.metsblog.com/2008/09/02/news-mets-in-the-arizona-fall-league/

[Frayed Knot]

]I like it too, but with an eye towards what...?

Not to be Captain Obvious, but towards finding out if he can play 2nd base.

His bat (or what we've seen of it in a small-ish sample so far) combined with even a mediocre 2Bman's glove would make him a great weapon for a team.
Especially since he's not going to play 3rd on this team any time in the near future, if he can't hack it at 2nd he's pretty much confined to either LF or 1B where the same bat is likely to be middle-of-the-pack or less at one of those spots.

[soupcan]

Well Captain - my question was more 'we have a second baseman locked up for significant money for the next few years'

Besides, they had Murphy playing 2nd in AA already so I assume they do know that he can play it.

I assumed that Castillo's contract would preclude them from grooming a secondbaseman but if they like Murphy's bat that much then nothing's out of the question.

[Guest AG/DC]

I'm guessing that he couldn't adapt immediately and they wanted his bat so they scuttled the experiment.

Off-season may be a time to return to it on a more learning and less trial-by-fire basis.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Castillo's contract was a mistake. (The length of it, anyway. It would have been okay if it was a one- or two-year deal, I think.)

Compounding that mistake by not looking at alternatives would be wrong. (And not at all out of character for the Mets.)

It's refreshing to see them looking at alternatives even though Castillo has three years to go.

If Murphy steals his job, Castillo can either be an expensive backup, or he can be traded. I don't know that the Mets would get much for him. The more cash they include the more they'd get back in talent, but trading him is a possibility.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'd bet he'd bring back Drew Butera.

[Frayed Knot]

"Besides, they had Murphy playing 2nd in AA already so I assume they do know that he can play it."

Only briefly - and in a kind of 'throw him into the deep end of the pool and see if he can swim' kind of way. I'm sure they'd like to see what he can do with a bigger sample size and in a more instructional kind of setting.
And since he doesn't really have a position at this point you might as well try him in the hard ones since it's always easier to adjust to the corner spots. Plus it not like Castillo's health and output precludes the grooming of platoon partners, occasional backups, or even flat-out replacements.

[soupcan]

Gotcha.

[MFS62]

Those of us who remember Chuck Hiller know he couldn't be any worse.
Could he?

But I'd personally keep him in left field. IMO that throw he made from foul territory the other night to keep the baserunner from scoring could only have been made by someone who had played third base. The usual left fielder would have taken a slpit second to set his feet or wind up before throwing. His 3B experience and arm is a plus on plays like that.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Whether he can handle LF isn't really in question - virtually any big leaguer can (OK, not Todd Hundley but everyone else). He's had a few shakey spots so far but that's mostly just inexperience.

But the reason you find out if he can play 2B is that the same bat is much more valuable there then it would be among the heavy-hitters in LF.

[Guest AG/DC]

I wouldn't be surprised if they did try to teach him the position in the off-season, but I'm suspecting they feel they've seen enough of him over there.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Adam Rubin by the way sees this development as a signal the Mets will try and unload Castillo this offseason.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yes! I saw that too and meant to comment on it here. Rubin says that "sources say" that the Mets will shop Castillo around and will be willing to eat some salary in order to move him.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Here it is in Adam Rubin's own words:

="Adam Rubin"]LOUIE GOOD-BYE: Luis Castillo signed a four-year, $25 million contract last winter. But the Mets are signaling they intend to shop the second baseman this offseason, even if it means eating some contract. Daniel Murphy, who has settled into a left field platoon with fellow rookie Nick Evans, has been asked by the organization to play second base in the Arizona Fall League. Murphy is a converted infielder, although he primarily manned third base in the minors. He was exposed to second base only during a 15-game stretch from July 3-18 when he was asked while with Double-A Binghamton to play there because Castillo's health looked shaky.

[Guest AG/DC]

We got front-office types reading our forum.

Stupid that this would leak now, though. Could only serve to undermine Castillo and his edible contract.

Plus, this could fail.

[Benjamin Grimm]

What could fail? The Murphy at second-base experiment?

I was thinking that too. Can we squeeze another year out of Damion Easley as a veteran insurance policy in case Murphy struggles?

Since it's not my money, I'd prefer to keep Castillo around for 2009 but let Murphy play as often as he merits, with Castillo picking up the slack and providing late-inning defense.

[Guest AG/DC]

Perhaps they should wait until after the AFL to decide anything. If he succeeds, then move. If he doesn't, he's an outfielder.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't think anything has been decided or "leaked".
To me this sounds like Adam speculating on the outcome of the Murphy to 2nd in the AZL experiment.
It's a logical speculation, but it's not like things have been set on an irreverible course here. If transitioning to a middle infield position were easy half the league would be doing it.

[Guest attgig]

some sites (can't remember which) were speculating (completely speculating) packaging Heilman with Castillo along with some money.

And more complete speculation was that mets would be front runners for orlando hudson

[Guest AG/DC]

Some sites (can't remember which) were speculating (completely speculating) packaging the two most maligned players on the team, along with some money, since the dawn of sites.