Trade rumors: Giants reportedly interested in Daniel Murphy

The Joe Panik Era didn't even get a danged honeymoon period before the trade rumors started popping up again. This one comes from Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, and the headline reads ...

Giants, Blue Jays interested in Mets' Daniel Murphy, but Sandy Alderson may not be selling

Pros: The Giants could use additional help at second base.

Cons: I'll have to learn which one is Daniel Murphy, which one is David Murphy, and which one is Donnie Murphy. I was doing quite okay not knowing.

Murphy is a steady player. Possibly a little boring. He's hit .296/.337/.418 for the Mets over the last four years, showing good bat control and limited power. His defense is average, at best, but his left-handed swing and high average make him a solid player.

So ... he's Joe Panik. That is, one of the better-case scenarios for Panik's development. I'd probably trade a prospect to guarantee that Panik had Daniel Murphy's career, actually. Except that prospect would probably have to be Joe Panik, which brings up a messy "Gift of the Magi" situation.

Rambling aside, Murphy is a quality player, and he's not a free agent until after next season. That written, I'm pretty sure the Mets are selling high, and they don't have a lot of urgency to deal him right now. This wouldn't be the kind of trade where the Giants ship off a 26-year-old reliever and a defense-first outfielder to get Murphy. Whatever the Mets would want, it would sting a bit.

Maybe in a month, we'll feel differently, but I'd rather see if Panik can be a poor man's Murphy for free, rather than trade the farm to get the rich man's Panik. I'll hum a different tune when it comes to a monster hitter like Chase Utley, but Murphy seems like a player whose cost-to-value ratio is way off, right now. The Blue Jays probably have more use for him.