MLB

Mets need to give Murphy ‘first’ shot

PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets need to cut the Carlos Delgado cord and allow Daniel Murphy to play first base with Ike Davis just around the corner in the minor leagues.

Murphy was the only “regular” to show up for the Mets’ three-day voluntary mini-camp. He has re-invented himself as a player. He is quicker and stronger. He knew he had to do something to improve his skills.

The left-handed hitting Murphy, who could wind up sharing the position with Fernando Tatis, always has been about doing extra work in the batting cage in the offseason. As a result, he didn’t put the time in to improve defensively, but this offseason Murphy made a major change in his workout program. He knew he had to get quicker and stronger, so he basically signed up for an NFL-type workout in Jacksonville, using the same tools and gym that some Jacksonville Jaguars use.

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“I got focused more on footwork type drills,” Murphy told The Post, noting that he was doing the same kind of drills in the workout facility as Jaguars defensive linemen Greg Peterson and Quentin Groves. “I really feel a difference. I’ve got a little more balance, a little more feeling on my feet.”

That’s made him quicker around the bag.

“I started working out earlier, running earlier, I didn’t focus on hitting as much,” Murphy said. “I would just go out to hit two days a week, not try to be in midseason form in spring training.”

As a result, there is a physical difference, too. Murphy is weighing in at 215, about seven pounds heavier than last season, but he has less body fat and more muscle.

Hitting coach Howard Johnson said Murphy has made some major adjustments and is no longer trying to hit the inside pitch the opposite way. He is pulling the pitches he needs to pull and going away with pitches that are away, in essence, using the entire field, something he did not do last season when he batted .266.

“I think people are underestimating his impact,” Johnson said. “I feel like he’s on target to do some really big numbers.”

Johnson said he believes Murphy can double his home-run output from 12 to 24 as a result of the changes. The Mets need to get as much power from Murphy as possible. They recently scouted Delgado in Puerto Rico, but he did not play the field. Delgado is sitting on 473 home runs and desperately wants to reach the 500 level. The Mets must get power from somewhere.

Murphy produced 38 doubles last season, and with a little better approach, some of those doubles can be home runs.

“Making adjustments at the plate is going to be big for him, which I thought he did at the end of last year,” manager Jerry Manuel said, adding Murphy could become a multi-positional player like Mark DeRosa.

Murphy, 24, said last season was a struggle. “I felt like I wasn’t doing anything at all and that’s a helpless feeling,” he said. “But I just kept grinding.”

First base is a much more natural fit for Murphy than the outfield.

“I’m just more comfortable in the dirt,” he said. “I’m just going to prepare myself as if I’m going to be playing first base, trying to help this team win, but any move they make, they are going to have the best interests of the team in mind.

“I think our motto is ‘just do your job’, if everybody does their job we’ll be right where we need to be.”

Murphy has two roommates back home in Jacksonville: his younger brother, Jonathan, a center fielder for Jacksonville University, and Johnson’s son, Glen, an infielder on that team. Murphy worked out two hours a day at The HIT (High Intensity Training) Center and also worked at Jacksonville University.

“I’ll be back here on Super Bowl Sunday [Feb. 7],” Murphy said. “I can’t wait to get going.”

The Mets need to give him the opportunity to succeed at first base.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com