Nationals history: Remembering the Daniel Murphy contract nine years later

Nine years ago today, Daniel Murphy was introduced to the media as the newest member of the Washington Nationals, after agreeing to a three-year $37.5 million contract. The deal would be more successful than any Nats fan could have imagined at the time. Murphy would transform himself into one of the best hitters in baseball during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Murphy was not the Nationals first choice, in fact he was far from it. The first option was veteran Ben Zobrist. However, Zobrist ended up joining the Cubs on a four-year $56 million deal. The next option was longtime Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips. This deal was very close to happening, but Phillips refused to waive his no-trade…