The Mets are still interested in trading their soon-to-be-expensive second baseman, but they won't simply give him away.
Adam Rubin, citing a "Mets person," reports that Daniel Murphy is exceedingly unlikely to be traded, which probably means that the Mets haven't yet found a team willing to give them what they're asking for. The tides of trade likelihood flow in and out with apparent caprice this time of year, and it wouldn't be at all surprising to learn—even within a matter of hours—that Murphy is now probably going to be dealt someplace or other.
Murphy is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and will doubtless see a raise over the $2.9 million he made in 2013. A 2014 salary of $4-5 million is hardly out of the question, and while Murphy has some things going for him baseball-wise, his shortcomings—lack of patience at the plate, general lack of power, mediocre range—which are easier to overlook in a player who isn't making much money, would be harder to warrant paying more substantially for.
If Murphy is eventually traded this offseason, the assumed plan, barring another acquisition, is for the Mets to play Eric Young at second base, where his bat will surely be less deleterious than it was in left field. Whether Young's defense at second would be watchable enough is another matter entirely, but it's not as if Murphy set the bar especially high in that regard.
Other options include shifting Ruben Tejada over from shortstop or bringing in a second baseman from outside the organization. The difference in salary between Murphy and Young could be $4 million or more, which fact undoubtedly gives the Mets extra incentive to move him.
