Murphy reportedly agrees to join Team USA for WBC

Source: www.masnsports.com --- Saturday, December 31, 2016
Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy has reportedly agreed to join Team USA for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, making him the first of the team's position players to commit to the international tournament. Murphy would join right-hander Max Scherzer , who previously accepted an invitation from Team USA manager Jim Leyland, who managed him with the Tigers. The only other Nationals player committed to play in the WBC is left-handed reliever Oliver Perez , who will pitch for his native Mexico. The 31-year-old Murphy enjoyed a stellar first season in Washington after agreeing last offseason to a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Nationals. That deal occurred after the Nationals had reportedly agreed to a trade for Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips only to have Phillips block the move by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. Murphy enjoyed a career year in 2016, establishing personal highs with a .347 batting average (second in the National League), 25 home runs and 104 RBIs, and leading the NL with 47 doubles, a .595 slugging percentage and a .985 OPS, also career marks. He finished second to the Cubs' Kris Bryant in the NL MVP balloting and won a Silver Slugger. But a slow-healing upper left leg injury limited Murphy to three regular season at-bats after Sept. 17, perhaps costing him the hitting title. The problem, often referred to as a glute strain, may have started as a hamstring problem earlier in the seaso ...

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