Chicago Cubs acquire Daniel Murphy and his ‘lifestyle’ baggage in deal

For the second time in three seasons, the Chicago Cubs picked up a high-impact player midseason with some less-than-savory off-field behavior in his past.

Looking to spark an offense that has fallen flat this month, the Chicago Cubs acquired a former public enemy number one in Daniel Murphy. Of course, I’m referring to his historic 2015 NLCS performance where he hit .529 with four home runs in the Mets’ sweep of Joe Maddon’s young team.

Since returning from an early season knee injury, Murphy went on a tear, putting up a .336/.379/.893 slash line since July 1. On the year, he’s flirting with a .300 average for the third consecutive campaign – and the Cubs are hoping he’s the missing piece to the puzzle.

But, regardless of how well he performs over the next five weeks, the signing comes with some serious questions that should prompt folks within and outside the organization to think long and hard.

Chicago Cubs: Turning over a new leaf?

And, at least according to some reports, – Murphy has struck up a friendship with Bean, who is openly gay – a fine first step in the right direction. And the latter preached patience and understanding – something I have to tip my cap to because, three years later, the newest member of the Chicago Cubs’ initial comments still get me fired up.

The silver lining in his comments are that he would be open to investing in a relationship with a teammate, even if he “disagrees” with the lifestyle. It may not be perfect, but I do see him making an effort to reconcile his religious beliefs with his interpretation of the word lifestyle. It took me 32 years to fully accept my sexual orientation, so it would be hypocritical of me to not be patient with others.

But, regardless of how you feel about Murphy on a personal level, he is, indeed, now a part of the Chicago Cubs. I have little doubt someone will push him on clarification on his recent comments once he joins the team – and I’ll be very interested in his response.

Chicago Cubs: More skeletons in the Cubs’ closet

The reaction on social media reminds me perfectly of the Aroldis Chapman move two years ago. After the Los Angeles Dodgers passed on acquiring Chapman in lieu of domestic abuse allegations, the Cubs ponied up blue-chip talent and added the fire-balling left-hander.

And the response amongst Chicago baseball fans wasn’t great. (Although pretty much everyone seemed fine looking past it when the dust settled on Game 7 and the Cubs were World Series champions).

The gay community surely won’t have forgotten Murphy’s comments. Nor will anyone ever close the book on Chapman’s behavior. Sure there are those who say, well, he learned his lesson and has changed. That still doesn’t excuse thinking gay people decide to be gay or that violence against women is remotely acceptable.

And, much the same as I believed the Chapman deal made the Cubs a better baseball team, I think the same is the case with Daniel Murphy in-tow. That doesn’t mean I like what he said – or even come close to looking past it. It’s just a simple truth.

Addison Russell has been downright awful since July 1 – while Murphy has been a world-beater since the All-Star Break. With an offense caught in the throes of a woeful slump, he makes this team drastically more dangerous.

But the Cubs, once again, are showing they’ll talk a good game when it comes to morality, but when presented with a choice between taking a stand or chasing championships, it’s a no-brainer.