Daniel Murphy said today that he will not be ready for Opening Day and will start the year on the disabled list.
Murphy had microfracture knee surgery last October. While he has been able to take batting practice and field ground balls, his lateral movement is still limited. In his absence -- which is not expected to last past mid-April or so -- Howie Kendrick will get the bulk of the playing time at second base.
Murphy hit .322/.384/.543, smacked 23 homers and knocked in 93 RBI in 2017.