Dan Murphy Has MCL Tear, Out for Season

For the Mets, when it rains, it pours. Dan Murphy endured a Grade 2 tear of his left MCL last night when Jose Constanza made a gritty slide into second base. Murph was unable to leave the field on his own weight, so fans knew that something was very wrong. Those suspicions were confirmed yesterday when the MRI showed the tear. The infielder will miss the remainder of the season, but will not have to opt for surgery. The standard rehab time is about four months.
Murphy had been enjoying his finest season in the Majors. The 26 year-old posted a .320/.362/.448 line with 6 homeruns, 28 doubles, 2 triples, 49 RBI, 49 runs, and 5 stolen bases. The infielder also had some fantastic peripherals, like a 9.9 K% (7th in NL), 21.9 LD% (10th in NL), and 89.8 Contact% (4th in NL). In addition, while Murph gets a lot of knocks on his defense, he did post a sensational 13.1 UZR/150 at second base, 7.2 UZR/150 at first base, and 4.6 UZR/150 at third base. His 3.1 WAR was equivalent to a $14 million season, according to Fan Graphs.
With Carlos Beltran gone via trade, and Ike Davis out the season, the recent loss of Dan Murphy might finally be the straw the broke the camel’s (or the Mets’ offenses) back. Fans can only hope that Murph’s rehab goes swimmingly, and that he’ll be ready to go by Spring Training.