Daniel Murphy is officially off the market.
On Christmas Eve, the Washington Nationals and second baseman Daniel Murphy agreed on a three-year deal, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN. The Nationals will forfeit a draft pick to the New York Mets for signing Murphy.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the deal for Murphy is work $37.5 million over three years.
It was reported by Bill Ladson of MLB.com that the Nationals were kicking the tires on the 30-year-old and it took just eight days for a deal to get done. Back on December 8, it was reported by Mike Puma of the New York Post that the Mets wants Murphy for one or two years. Murphy, however, went with the Nationals, who offered the longer deal and maybe more money on an annual basis.
The deal for Murphy gives the Nationals a ton of options up the middle. He will start at second base, which gives Washington the option of Danny Espinosa or Trea Turner at shortstop. Anthony Rendon, meanwhile, could make the move from third base to shortstop, but only if needed.
Murphy slashed .328./.391/.724 with seven home runs and 11 RBI during postseason play this season, which helped his value to increase a ton.
Out of Jacksonville University, the infielder was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Since then, he has been in the Big Apple. The 2016 season will be his first time away from a place he called home. Murphy's debut came against the Houston Astros, which he went 1-for-4 on August 2, 2008.
He has been dominant with a .288/.331/.424 slash line with 62 home runs and 402 RBI across 903 games over the 30-year-old's seven-year career. The career included a trip to the All-Star game in 2014, which saw Murphy hit .289 with nine home runs and 57 RBI. In that season, he was very hot early, but struggled after the halfway point for the Mets.
This means that Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds is officially out in Washington, so is Martin Prado of the Miami Marlins. Howie Kendrick could end up with the Arizona Diamondbacks because they are lacking experience up the middle of the diamond with Chris Owings at second base and Nick Ahmed at shortstop.