For the second time in four months, Daniel Murphy is on the move.
After landing with the Chicago Cubs via trade in August, the former Washington Nationals All-Star infielder has agreed to a two-year contract with the Colorado Rockies, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan.
A three-time All-Star and former NLCS MVP, the 33-year-old veteran figures to play first or second base in Colorado, joining an infield that already boasts stars Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado. He should also be available on Opening Day after missing the first 65 games of 2018 while recovering from knee surgery.
Baseball free agency has been dominated by talk of big names like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, Murphy’s former teammate in Washington, but the two-time Silver Slugger winner has been a model of consistency on the diamond for a decade, representing a significant high-upside addition for Colorado. Murphy spent the first seven years of his MLB career with the New York Mets, hitting above .285 in five different seasons. He then logged career-high home-run, double and RBI marks with the Nationals from 2016-2018.
He’s also known for his Christian faith. A contributor to The Increase, through which he’s shared his personal testimony, Murphy once told the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that his run up to — and struggles during — the 2015 World Series were a prime example of his surrender to Jesus.
“The more notoriety I got, I tried to push in closer to Jesus,” he said. “I didn’t want to take that glory for myself. It was a really, really sweet time in our lives … Being on top of the mountain and then being at the bottom of the barrel … just felt like a perfect picture of God’s grace and love in our lives. Jesus didn’t love me any less when I made those errors in the World Series than He did when I was hitting those home runs in the NLCS.”
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