Daniel Murphy raking in minor league comeback as Angels deal with rash of injuries
It appears Daniel Murphy may have something left in the tank.
The 2015 Mets’ postseason hero, who came out of retirement this year to play with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, is knocking on the door of an MLB return just weeks after signing a minor league deal with the Angels on June 12.
Murphy has slashed an impressive .342/.413/.488 with one home run and eight RBIs in 10 games for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.
The performance is in line with the 38-year-old’s 37-game run with Long Island, where he slashed .331/.410/.451 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 37 games — which included a .861 OPS and a 16-game hitting streak from May 16-June 1.
Despite his independent league numbers, the Angels were the only MLB team to show interest in Murphy, according to The Athletic.
“I felt like I had a little bit of baseball left,” Murphy told the outlet about his decision to come out of retirement. “I don’t know how much. But it was more than zero.
“And it got to a point where if I didn’t at least try, then it would have been more out of fear than anything else. And I didn’t want that to be the case.”
The Angels, four games out of a wild card spot, could now have an opening for Murphy’s bat.
The team has faced a rash of injuries to infielders Anthony Rendon, Zack Neto, Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury in recent weeks.
The injury woes were exasperated Tuesday when superstar outfielder Mike Trout hit the injured list with a hamate fracture in his left wrist that could sideline him for at least a month while Shohei Ohtani is dealing with a blister that could keep him from making an All-Star Game appearance.
Los Angeles has already added veterans Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar in recent weeks.
In his 12-year MLB career, Murphy was a three-time All-Star with 1,572 hits, 138 homers and a career .296 average.
A fixture in the Mets’ lineup from 2008-2015, Murphy solidified his place in New York baseball lore during the 2015 postseason, homering in an MLB record six straight playoff games en route to the National League pennant.
He departed Queens to sign with the Nationals the following season, finishing second in NL MVP voting to Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant.
Murphy had stints with the Cubs and Rockies before he hung up his cleats following a subpar 2020 season at 35 years old.
“This is a beautiful game, and I really just feel humbled and blessed that it let me jump on the ride for a little bit,” Murphy said at the time. “It’s beautiful. It can teach you about so many things.
“And all I can say is, thank you.”
After appearing at Mets Old Timers Day’ last year, mixed with a personal deep dive into the history of baseball, Murphy told The Post his passion for the game was reignited.
“I just thought, man, this is a really cool game we have,” Murphy said. “But in trying to play it as hard as I could, and being as productive a teammate as I could be, I didn’t really ever pay that much attention to its history.
“It got me re-energized about the game.”
