Spring is in the air in Port St. Lucie, as the Mets get ready to kick off their spring training season on February 26 against the Braves.
Pitchers and catchers have reported, and there a lot of position players already in camp as well, some whom have been working out at Digital Domain Park for over a week.
One of those players is Daniel Murphy, who is attempting to come back from a forgettable 2010 season that saw him injure his knee multiple times and pretty much lose an entire year off of his career.
Rewind the clock one year ago.
Murphy was all set to be the Mets’ opening day first baseman after a fine season in 2009 that saw him take over for the injured Carlos Delgado.
But in the final week of spring training, Murphy turned his knee awkwardly in a routine rundown play between third base and home plate. He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL sprain and began the season on the disabled list.
While he rehabbed with Triple-A Buffalo, the Mets called up rookie sensation Ike Davis, who ran with the first base job and never looked back.
The Mets decided to keep Murphy in Buffalo to become a utility player, with the intention of him learning second base in the event that he would replace Luis Castillo someday.
However, Murphy’s experiment at second base was short-lived, as he was caught up in a collision at the second base bag and suffered a season-ending MCL injury in the same knee.
He has worked vigorously to get back to full strength and learn the position, and he has put himself in a good spot to win the starting job this spring if he can prove to be at least an adequate defender.
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