MLB Rumors: Rockies Sign Daniel Murphy, Cardinals Land Andrew Miller

Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Colorado Rockies have reportedly reached a two-year agreement with free agent second baseman Daniel Murphy.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, it will be a two-year deal worth around $24 million. The franchise was said to be signing Murphy as replacement for DJ LeMahieu, who was not given a qualifying offer by the Rockies.

Despite being a second baseman, it was claimed Murphy would be expected to play mainly at first base for the Rockies next season. Passan is certain he would help the Colorado baseball franchise, who had the second-highest scoring lineup in the MLB National League last season.

Murphy will turn 34 years old in April and he missed 65 games last season after undergoing a knee surgery. While he was expected to be good with the bat, it was believed he would be a downgrade defensively. Moreover, he has played just 225 games at first base in his 10-year career, while having played 834 at second base.

The veteran second baseman finished with 15 doubles and 12 homers while posting .299/.336/.454 line in 91 games last season.

There are a number of other free agent deals that were also being reported, with Fox’s Ken Rosenthal saying the Washington Nationals had agreed a deal with free agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez. The deal with Sanchez was expected to be a two-year affair, worth $19 million, with confirmation expected once he completed a physical. The 34-year-old was expected to step in to the rotation spot recently vacated by Tanner Roark, who was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez was said to have advocated for Sanchez after he had a 1.50 ERA and .576 opponents’ OPS in 18 innings against the Nats last season. As per the report, Sanchez joins Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg in the rotation.

The St. Louis Cardinals have also been busy this offseason, with Passan reporting they had landed free agent reliever Andrew Miller on a multi-year deal. Miller was expected to provide a strong presence to a team that finished with the second-highest walk rate and fourth-lowest strike out rate in the National League.

“Andrew Miller had a number of two-year offers in hand, according to teams pursuing him. He was seeking a third year, though the Cardinals could also have bumped up the AAV on the deal as a separator. Terms aren’t clear, but Miller to Cardinals is as good as done,” Passan wrote on Twitter.