The second baseman with the highest fWAR in back-to-back years in Mets history is 1999-2000 Edgardo Alfonzo. Next up is 2013-2014 Daniel Murphy. Now, the gap between first and second is huge and there are a few people close to Murphy. Still, he’s solidified what has been a troublesome spot throughout recent team history yet all we hear about him now is how we’re okay if we trade him and there’s no way we’ll even consider bringing him back once he reaches free agency.

The last five Opening Day second basemen before Murphy took over in 2012 were: Kazuo Matsui, Anderson Hernandez, Jose Valentin, Luis Castillo and Brad Emaus. With Castillo having three Opening Day starts for the Mets, this list goes back to 2005. In those seven years, the only time the Mets received a fWAR over 1.0 from their Opening Day second baseman was in 2009 when Luis Castillo posted a 1.6 mark. While many fans have fond memories of Valentin, when the Mets counted on him to be their second baseman in 2007, he responded with a 0.2 fWAR in an injury-plagued season.

Much like Valentin in 2006, Murphy was not the team’s Opening Day starter at second base in 2011 but he shifted to the position during the year and he put up a 2.8 fWAR before coming down with a season-ending injury. In the 2011-2014 seasons, Murphy has put up a combined total of 9.9 fWAR. That’s hardly superstar level but it’s the type of production that generally makes teams and fans happy.

Yet, Sandy Alderson recently gave Murphy a lukewarm response. ESPN’s Adam Rubin reported that the Mets are “not particularly interested” in signing Murphy to an extension and while they are not looking to trade him right now, if they “can get a high-powered bat at shortstop, their inclination to trade Murphy would dramatically increase.”

This reaction towards Murphy is understandable, even if it is unusually harsh for a guy who’s played his heart out for the team and been a productive player. After all, the Mets have a competent short-term solution in Wilmer Flores already on the roster and the long-term answer in Dilson Herrera came up and performed well late last year and should be ready to be the club’s Opening Day starter in 2016.

With the knowledge that Murphy’s days as a Met are limited and with the recognition that it’s even possible he’s played his last game in a Mets uniform, let’s remember his unusual career in Queens.

Murphy was a 13th-round draft pick in 2006. He came to the attention of the club because he played collegiately at Jacksonville University, which happened to be where the son of Mets Vice President Tony Bernazard played. Murphy did not distinguish himself in his professional debut, as he put up a .213/.312/.300 line while splitting time among all three of the club’s short-season teams.

But a funny thing happened in his time in the minors. Murphy hit better as he faced more advanced pitching. He put up a .768 OPS the following year in Hi-A and in Double-A he posted an .870 mark before earning a short-lived promotion to Triple-A and ultimately the majors.

Despite being in a race for the postseason, the Mets not only played Murphy when they promoted him in 2008, they stuck him in the outfield, a position he played all of four games in his professional career. A third baseman by trade, Murphy had little chance to play his natural position with David Wright on the team. Despite his less than ideal introduction to the show, Murphy put up an .871 OPS in 151 PA with the Mets in ’08.

That performance earned him the starting job in left field for the 2009 club. Early that season, he committed a few gaffes in the outfield and was dubbed unfit to play the position. It should be pointed out that he played 213.2 innings in left field that season and finished with a (-13.9) UZR/150. In 2013, newly-acquired Michael Cuddyer, who has played the outfield professionally since 2001, put up a (-18.9) UZR/150 in 992 outfield innings.

Those high-profile errors helped earn Murphy a seat on the bench. But for one of the rare times in his career with the Mets, Murphy caught a professional break. You undoubtedly recall that 2009 was the year that nearly every player on the team ended up on the disabled list. This included first baseman Carlos Delgado. So, despite having only played 13 games professionally at the position, Murphy took over at first.

The transition to first base saw Murphy go through an extended period where he just did not hit. But with all of the injuries, the Mets had little choice but to keep putting him out there. And then it finally clicked. Over his final 65 games of the year, Murphy put up an .833 OPS, with 35 extra-base hits in 238 ABs. Additionally, he proved to be a good fielder at first base, as he recorded an 8.8 UZR/150 in 849.1 innings at his new position.

It looked like Murphy would be the team’s starting first baseman for the next decade. Instead, the injury bug which claimed nearly every player in 2009 waited until 2010 to strike Murphy. He hurt his knee in Spring Training and opened the year on the DL. While he was out, Ike Davis came up and staked his claim to the first base job and Murphy was once again in search of a position.

The Mets moved Murphy to second base during his rehab in the minors and his season ended when a dirty slide (combined with an inexperienced player’s inability to get out of the way) resulted in an MCL tear.

Healthy for the 2011 season, Murphy saw time all over the infield. While he did not start on Opening Day, he was the primary second baseman the first five weeks of the season. After Davis’ injury while colliding with Wright on an infield popup, Murphy returned to first base. After Wright went down with the stress fracture in his back, Murphy alternated between first and third. Despite all the shuffling around the diamond, Murphy was having a strong season and was third in the league in hitting.

On August 7, he entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went in to play second base. His season ended when Braves rookie Jose Constanza executed a slide that, while not dirty, will never be included in a “how to play better baseball” instructional video. For the second straight season, a torn MCL suffered while making the pivot at second base did Murphy in.

It looked like Murphy’s career as a second baseman was over before it really got a chance to begin. But Murphy showed no hesitation in returning to the position and put in a lot of work with Tim Teufel to improve his work at the pivot. And in one of the two best decisions in his managerial career with the Mets, the other being his patience with Juan Lagares in CF, Terry Collins stuck with Murphy as his second baseman.

Murphy did not have the offensive season he enjoyed in 2011, but he was able to play a full season in 2012. He improved defensively in 2013 and last year he was an All-Star. Now the fans are counting the days until he’s gone. Perhaps not as overtly as was done with Castillo but done nevertheless.

One of the criticisms directed towards me during my years writing for the site is how I don’t value the intangibles. And it’s a very valid criticism. Still, one has to wonder where these intangibles-lovers are when it comes to Murphy.

The guy has been the ultimate team player, moving positions numerous times without ever complaining. He’s sacrificed his body and put in as much rehab time as any player on the club. When the Mets have a rally that he’s not involved in, you always see Murphy on the top step of the dugout, leading the cheers for his teammates.

Murphy has been productive, hard-working and (seemingly) a good teammate. Let’s keep these things in mind before we indifferently pat him on the back and wish his way out of town. My preference is to see another season of Murphy with the Mets. The cold truth is that he won’t be on the club in 2016 because of his contract status and the presence of Herrera. My sincere hope is that Murphy gets to experience the playoffs with the Mets before he goes. It seems like he’s earned that right.

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