San Diego Padres interim manager Pat Murphy probably worked the assembled media in attendance of Wednesday night’s game against the New York Mets into a lather by making some strange bench moves during the team’s 7-3 win. And he admitted after the game he did so simply to mess with them.
Murphy pulled both Matt Kemp and Justin Upton after five-and-a-half innings, and whenever a player is removed from the field as the trade deadline approaches, many assume it is in the effort to reduce the risk of injury so close to a deal being finalized. While Kemp’s name hasn’t come up much if at all in trade rumors — although it has been suggested elsewhere that the Orioles should go after him — Upton’s certainly has been the topic of discussions, with the aforementioned Orioles and Houston Astros, along with the Pittsburgh Pirates, being among the teams who have reportedly expressed interest in the 27-year-old outfielder.