In 2015, the Indians have struggled to score enough runs to win on a consistent basis. Through Wednesday, July 8th, the Indians are 22nd worst in Major League Baseball with 335 runs scored in 84 games. Although there are several contenders that have scored fewer (such as the Cubs, 331, and the Rays, 319), the Tribe would welcome a jolt to their offense, whether it comes internally or externally through a trade.
Throughout this season, there have been two unsung heroes that combined to produce All-Star caliber results: Ryan Raburn and David Murphy. Both players had lackluster 2014 seasons, which were viewed as disappointments, even for themselves. Murphy, coming off a bad 2013 campaign in which he set career lows in key offensive categories, would hit .262/.319/.385 in 462 plate appearances in ’14. Raburn, in the first year of a two-year/$4.85 million contract, hit .200/.250/.297 in a part time role; his season was disappointing in context of the terrific ’13 season when he batted .272/.357/.543 in “only” 277 PA’s. To say they had disappointing years would be an understatement as both were brought in (0r re-signed in Raburn’s case) to help an anemic offense.
As the offensive woes as a team continue this season, both Raburn and Murphy are a part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Both are having “bounce-back” seasons as both can potentially become free-agents if the Indians do not pick up their options. The rebound could not come at a better time for both men, from a personal and professional standpoint.
As a platoon, Raburn and Murphy are batting a respectable .311/.377/.509 with nine home runs, 1.7 Wins Above Replacement in 326 PA’s. To put this platoon in perspective, they are second best on the team in AVG, OBP and would lead the team in SLG. When you compare this tandem to the other DH’s in the American League we find that, together, they also rank within the top 5. With a minimum of 200 PA’s, they are third best in AVG, fourth in OBP and fifth in SLG. This is good offensive output from two guys who had a lot of question marks heading into the season:
Would they continue the decline in the final year of their contract or would they return to what they were capable of doing.
Baseball always finds a way to work out the roster kinks once the season begins. There are moving parts and many dynamic changes throughout the course of the year that the roster envisioned during spring training is usually not the same at the end of the regular season, even May or June. This happened to be the case with the Indians as Nick Swisher, who was penciled to be the full-time DH, has been limited due to various setbacks stemming from his double knee surgery this off-season.
Typically, losing a starter for any length of time is bad. However, the Indians are getting better production than what they would be receiving from Swisher in all likelihood. Both Raburn and Murphy have produced 1.7 WAR in ’15 which is better than the -1.6 WAR produced by Swisher in ’14 only slightly worse than the 2.3 WAR he earned when relatively healthy in ’13. This example is not used to mock Swisher, but rather to point out the important fact the Raburn and Murphy platoon has left the Indians in a good position with strong depth when attrition might have otherwise crippled an already mediocre offense.
Whenever the term “platoon” is used in baseball, the average fan will think in terms of match-ups: RHB vs. RHP and LHB vs. LHP. In this case, manager Terry Francona has strictly used both in lefty-righty splits: Murphy has 181 PA’s vs. right handers and only 13 against lefties. One of those PA’s came on July 8th vs. the Houston Astros. With the game tied at two in the bottom of the eighth inning, Francona let Murphy face lefty Joe Thatcher with Francisco Lindor on second, Michael Brantley on first and one out. Murphy, in only his 13th PA against a fellow lefty this season, doubled to the right field wall on the first pitch he saw to score Lindor and Brantley for a 4-2 victory.
Murphy, who faced Thatcher just once before Wednesday, is hitting .400 (4-for-10) against lefties this year. At the start of the inning, lefties were hitting .220 (9-for-41) against Thatcher. The Astros had right-hander Pat Neshek, he of the funky motion and nasty stuff, warming in the pen waiting for Raburn.
Francona said:
“Murph did what good hitters do…he got a pitch up, hit it really well and made everybody happy.”
Being called a “good hitter” by the former manager of the year and two-time world champion is an accolade that Murphy will likely never forget.
Raburn has historically hit RHP almost as well as he does southpaws. For his career, Raburn has batted .259/.332/.478 vs LHP and .251/.298/.399 vs RHP. He has more power against lefties but the bating average is virtually the same. If Francona wished to keep him in to face a righty, Raburn has proven he is more than capable of producing.
There has been some discussion that either Raburn or Murphy would be expendable in a trade because of how poorly the Indians have been playing in 2015. Both players offer contractual flexibility to any team they get traded to since they both carry club options on 2016 which mean the Indians could ask for quality prospects in return. A trade involving one if not both of these two players would make sense only if the Indians believe they are not good enough to contend for a playoff spot. They would be selling high and would rid themselves at the making the decision to pick the options.
Fangraph’s ZIPS projects Murphy to hit .274/.331/.414 and Raburn .235/.302/.405 the rest of the season. Both are slated for regressions because of unusually high BABIP’s compared to their career averages. If the Indians are going to make the decision to retool for next season, they better make a move with these guys sooner, rather than later. If they are seeking to trade one of them regardless of their status in the October hunt, Raburn is the obvious choice based on his regressed projected numbers.
However, like all trades in professional sports, shipping one to another team should not be completely overlooked until the players that the team is getting in return is considered. As good as Raburn and Murphy have been this season, keep in mind that offense is at a premium in MLB and teams might be willing to part with a few budding stars in exchange for a slugger and we know just how good the Indians are at making second tier trades.
So far, both Raburn and Murphy have been pleasant surprises in the Indians lineup. One way or another, they will need to continue to produce if the Indians are to stay in the hunt for October.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
