The Los Angeles Angels added another veteran to their Minor League ranks this week, signing Daniel Murphy to join the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.
Murphy, a 12-year veteran of Major League Baseball, had been playing with the Long Island Ducks of the Independent Atlantic League this season. The 38-year-old had been hitting .331/.410/.451 with two home runs, nine doubles and 19 RBI through 37 games with the Ducks.
He joined the Ducks in late March, splitting time between first and second base, if he does play well at Triple-A, he could be of solid help on the big league roster with Jared Walsh continuing to struggle. Murphy’s last big league action came with the Colorado Rockies in 2020, when he posted a .608 on-base plus slugging during the 60-game season.
He had previously retired from MLB, but his postseason history and knowledge of hitting could be a decent add if there is anything left in the tank.
The left-handed hitter has played 1,452 career games at the Major League level, hitting .296/.341/.455 with a 113 wRC+ and 21.1 WAR. He has hit 138 home runs, driven in 735 and scored 710 runs.
Murphy has experience playing second base, first base and third base, spending most of his career with the New York Mets.
He is a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger award winner and was named the 2015 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player.
Angels believe Zach Neto will continue to develop power numbers
This past Sunday, the Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners 9-4, fueled by a number of home runs from different sources in the lineup.
Rookie shortstop Zach Neto had his best game at the plate as an Angel, launching two homers, with this first coming with two outs in the bottom of the second and extended the Angels’ lead to 3-0. He later led off the bottom of the eighth with his second home run of the game that punctuated the victory.
It marked the first career multi-home run game for Neto. He finished his day with the two hits in four at-bats and scored three runs.
Angels manager Phil Nevin has been impressed with Neto and believes he will hit for more power as his career progresses.
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