Matt Murton

[Matt Breen]

I'll throw out a weird idea for fun - Matt Murton, currently in Japan. He hasn't played regularly in the Bigs since 2007, but set a record for hits in the Japanese league in 2010, and hit over .300 again this year. No clue about his power numbers.

 

Murton, I believe, is a FA. He is right handed and always was considered a good average / low power guy. He has a career average of .286, a OBP of .352, OPS of .788. He mostly played LF (his UZR is very good). If you moved Hart to 1B perhaps Murton would be a good guy to play RF. Maybe you could platoon him with Gamel or Gindl.

 

Murton just turned 30 last month, so he isn't that old. But if you got a guy who could get you an .800 OPS and good fielding from RF for cheap, that wouldn't be a bad deal.

 

Don't know if he could play RF that well. Just throwing out ideas. Having a decent bat around is always helpful.

[dadofandrew]

Matt's numbers were very similar to Hart's early on. That said, I'm sure he'd choose a team that needs a LF/RF/DH, and since they've already said Hart is not moving to 1B, the question is moot.

[yoshii8]

I've always liked Matt Murton, and never really understood why he didn't get more of a shot. I would love to see him brought in as a replacement for Kotsay.

[TooLiveBrew]

Juan Rivera? $4.5M contract. Matt Murton? Played in Japan the past two seasons.

Would be a savvy move to pick him up on the cheap. I guess that depends on how good his agent is.

[JohnBriggs12]

I did read something that Murton wanted to return to play here, but Roenicke would be hard pressed to find AB's for him as the Brewers are currently constituted. He can only really play LF and he's not very good out there either. If Hart got traded, a Murton/Jason Kubel platoon in LF with Braun moving to RF might be pretty effective offensively. But that's getting the cart way out ahead of the horse.

[Mike]

No chance. He has been out of MLB too long for one. Second there are way too many cheaper options available; He plays in Japan for a reason namely he couldn't find a job in MLB.

[RockCoCougars]

If I'm looking for a RH hitting outfielder, I'd go for Andruw Jones. He made roughly what Counsell did last year, and played pretty well. Personally, I think the Brewers need a lefty backup OF. All that said, I wouldn't be opposed to tossing Murton a NRI if he was homesick.

[brettac1]

If he wants to get back to MLB, I would think that he would be a nice pick up. I can't see how he will be expensive at all.

 

I definitely agree with others who thought he deserved more of a shot back when he was around the first time.

[nate82]

No chance. He has been out of MLB too long for one. Second there are way too many cheaper options available; He plays in Japan for a reason namely he couldn't find a job in MLB.

So you would have passed on Colby Lewis because he played in Japan and couldn't find a job in MLB?

[Mike]

No chance. He has been out of MLB too long for one. Second there are way too many cheaper options available; He plays in Japan for a reason namely he couldn't find a job in MLB.

So you would have passed on Colby Lewis because he played in Japan and couldn't find a job in MLB?

Sure because there are way more examples of the former than the latter. My earlier point is there are too many other less risky options.