Not many people will ever hate David Murphy, but the Texas Rangers outfielder quickly went from fan favorite to all-but-forgotten in 2013, and he picked the wrong year to have his worst career season.
In a contract year, Murphy was given his first opportunity to be an everyday outfielder in the big leagues and quickly showed he was incapable of taking on that responsibility and is better suited as a fourth outfielder in a platoon situation as Craig Gentry outplayed him in left field.
Now, Murphy is reportedly very close to inking a two-year deal, as the Star-Telegram reported late Tuesday.
The Rangers weren't going to bring Murphy back after he hit .220 with a .282 on-base percentage and basically became an automatic groundout to second base as the season wore on. In 2012, Murphy had a career season in which he hit .304 with 15 homers and 61 RBIs, earning him more playing time in 2013. Clearly, however, that didn't work out how he or the Rangers would have hoped.
Murphy will be reunited with Terry Francona in Cleveland, as he was traded to Texas from Boston in 2007. The move leaves a hole to fill, which was expected, in a corner outfield spot as someone to most likely platoon with Gentry in left field.
