Earlier this month, Daniel Murphy was placed on revocable waivers and, instead of the New York Mets putting a claim on their former postseason hero, the NL-leading Chicago Cubs claimed and subsequently worked out a trade for the second baseman, leaving some in awe.
"I don't know who wouldn't want to pick him up," Mets' Zack Wheeler said, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "He's one of the best hitters in the game ... They passed up on him. They had their chance. Now the Cubs have him, and they have an even deeper lineup."
When the Cubs originally placed a claim for Murphy a week-and-a-half ago, the two clubs had a 48-hour window to consummate a trade. With the deadline set for Tuesday at 12:30 pm CT, general manager Jed Hoyer recalled the deal coming down to 12:28, ultimately sending minor-league infielder Andruw Monasterio to the Nats.
"We were surprised," Hoyer said to Rogers. "Obviously the way he was hitting, and also, it's been a year, where for the most part, if we put in somewhere between one and eight or nine claims every day, we've generally been getting zero."
Wheeler and Murphy were teammates from the time the right-hander made his major-league debut in 2013 until the second baseman departed via free agency following the 2015 season. That span includes Murphy's remarkable 2015 playoff breakout, when he hit seven home runs over 14 games, carrying the team to their first World Series appearance since 2000.
The Mets were one of 13 teams to not place a claim on Murphy when the Washington Nationals put the three-time All-Star on waivers. While the Mets, who are out of a postseason race, may have balked at the approximate $4.5-million salary remaining on his expiring deal this year, clubs like the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals all could have made a case for placing a claim. At the very least, it would have prevented the Cubs from becoming a more formidable October opponent.
Since joining the Cubs, Murphy is 11-for-31 with two home runs and two doubles.
