Outfield Market Gets Moving; Murphy Ready to Go

The free agent market, which has been somewhat stagnant for a while, has started moving again. Outfielders Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn have signed contracts.

Abreu and the Angels have agreed on a one-year deal worth roughly $5 million plus incentives. The Mets were only willing to talk about Abreu if his price fell below $4 million.

NL East rival Washington has signed Adam Dunn to a two-year deal worth $20 million. Dunn is certainly worth the $10 million, but with this shaky market I thought he could be netted with a cheaper deal.

Dunn more than makes up for his low batting average (career .247) and high strikeout rate (at least 120 K's in every full year of his career) with his phenomenal home runs and ability to get on-base.

Dunn has hit at least 40 homers in the past six straight seasons. He has gotten on base at a .385 clip in five of those seasons.

Going into spring training the Mets will have Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis splitting time in left field. Some Mets fans are uneasy with this tandem but I'm perfectly fine with it.

Last season, Murphy and Tatis combined to hit .302 with 13 homers and 64 RBI in 404 at bats.

Murphy has already arrived at the Mets Spring Training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He has been working out alongside David Wright, Ryan Church, Brian Schneider, Nick Evans, and others.

According to Bart Hubbuch from the New York Post, Murphy impressed in sprints this morning, beating his teammates. Hubbuch also said that Murphy is in great shape and seems to be ready for the season to start now.

Mets Interested in Bobby Abreu?

Outfielder Bobby Abreu has yet to receive any enticing contract offers. While the Mets are no longer looking to make any big offseason moves, Abreu's price could fall to $3 million for a one-year deal.

In that case they'd have to look into it. The Angels, Braves, Dodgers, and Mariners are other potentially interested teams.

The biggest detriment to signing Abreu would be that he hits left-handed. I don't see this as a problem. In fact, Abreu hit better against lefties (.315) last year than he did against righties (.287)! He even has a career .280 average against southpaws.

Abreu does not have a tremendous amount of power, but his high on-base percentage would certainly be helpful to the Mets lineup. He has a career .405 OBP and would fit nicely in the two-hole hitting between Jose Reyes and David Wright.

Abreu's outfield defense would likely be equal to that of a Tatis/Murphy combination. Abreu will not sacrifice his body like Tatis or Murphy would, but his experience in the outfield would make up for that.

Having Abreu would allow Murphy to spend a year in Triple-A getting used to playing whatever position the Mets feel suits him (outfield or first base). Also, Tatis would be a nice right-handed bat coming off the bench. Cory Sullivan or Jeremy Reed, whomever wins the final outfield job, could spell Abreu in the late innings as a defensive replacement.

Abreu would be a nice fit for the Mets, however, I am perfectly fine with a Murphy/Tatis platoon.