Athletics

The New York Mets are wasting no time adding to their rotation following a lengthy lockout that prohibited teams from making roster moves. 

The Mets are reportedly acquiring Oakland Athletics right-hander Chris Bassitt, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Prospects JT Ginn and Adam Oller are being sent to the A's in exchange, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. 

The move marks the first of what is expected to be many in a fire sale from the A's, who are expected to slash payroll ahead of the 2022 campaign. A pair of executives told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that the A's were looking to cut payroll to as little as an MLB-low $50 million for the 2022 season.

Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Ramon Laureano and Lou Trivino are among Oakland's other trade candidates. 

Bassitt is set for his final year of arbitration before becoming an unrestricted free agent and is expected to make $8.8 million in 2022, per Spotrac. The 33-year-old spent six of his seven seasons in Oakland after beginning his MLB career with the Chicago White Sox in 2014. 

Bassitt has emerged as one of the top arms in baseball over the last few years, earning an All-Star selection in 2021 and finishing 10th in American League Cy Young voting after posting a 3.15 ERA, 1.055 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 157.1 innings across 27 starts. 

Adding Bassitt likely means the Mets will place David Peterson and Tylor Megill in the minors. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker join Bassitt in what is expected to be an impressive rotation. 

After losing Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard, adding an arm was a priority for the Mets. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported March 8 that the franchise was interested in adding another starting pitcher, as well as a left-handed hitter. 

As for the A's and the players they are receiving, Ginn was New York's fifth-ranked prospect behind Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Matt Allan. The 22-year-old spent the 2021 season with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones Low-A Southeast, posting a 3.03 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 92 innings across 18 starts. 

Oller, meanwhile, has been playing in the minors since 2017 and spent the 2021 campaign with triple-A Syracuse and Double-A Binghamton, posting a 3.45 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 120 innings across 23 starts. 

The Oakland Athletics are targeting a top prospect from the Philadelphia Phillies, including Andrew Painter, Mick Abel and Bryson Stott, in any trade for third baseman Matt Chapman, according to Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Coffey added that the Phillies have been reluctant to trade any of those players.

Chapman has been included in trade rumors with the A's likely set for a rebuild after finishing 86-76 last season and missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the last seven seasons.

The 28-year-old also hasn't been as productive since the 2019 season in which he finished sixth in American League MVP voting after slashing .249/.342/.506 with 36 home runs and 91 RBI.

While he did win a Gold Glove in 2021, Chapman has hit .215/.306/.431 with 37 home runs and 97 RBI over the last two seasons, which is a pretty big drop-off from his 2019 campaign.

Still, Chapman is a hot trade candidate given his defensive prowess at the hot corner, where he has won three Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves. In addition to the Phillies, the New York Yankees are also among the teams interested in Chapman, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (h/t NBC Sports' Taylor Wirth).

Chapman has two more seasons of arbitration (2022 and 2023) before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He's projected to make $9.5 million in 2022, according to Spotrac, and it's unclear if the A's are willing to spend that much money on him, as they aren't expected to contend this season.

In addition to Chapman, the A's are reportedly considering trading Matt Olson, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Ramon Laureano and Lou Trivino in order to slash payroll.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported in November that a pair of executives told him the A's were looking to cut payroll to as little as $50 million for the 2022 season, which would be an MLB low.

Bassitt, Montas, Chapman, Olson, Manaea, Laureano and Trivino are all eligible for arbitration this year. Moving them would undoubtedly save the franchise some money. 

With a new collective bargaining agreement now approved, many expect the MLB offseason to quickly shift back into gear. Oakland Athletics star Matt Olson is among those who could be on the move.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, however, the A's and New York Yankees "were not close" to a deal prior to the lockout because the Yankees didn't want to give up 20-year-old shortstop Anthony Volpe.

MLB.com ranks Volpe as the No. 1 prospect in New York's system.

Even though Luke Voit is still under team control for the upcoming season, the Bronx Bombers appear determined to land a first baseman. The midseason acquisition of Anthony Rizzo, who's now a free agent, seemed to send a message about the organization's outlook on Voit. 

Per multiple reports, five-time All-Star Freddie Freeman could be on New York's radar:

As the transactions begin, some rival executives curious about whether the Yankees attempt to move quickly on Freddie Freeman.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 10, 2022

#Dodgers interest in Freddie Freeman is sincere, based on what I have heard from sources tonight. #Braves and #Yankees obviously are prominent in the Freeman marketplace. Some in the industry believe he could be next major free agent to sign. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 11, 2022

Signing Freeman is the most straightforward solution on the table for general manager Brian Cashman, albeit the most expensive one, too. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported in November that Freeman was looking for a deal worth around $180 million over six years.

Olson, on the other hand, is projected to earn $12 million in his second year of arbitration, per Spotrac. He'll head to arbitration again in 2023 before hitting free agency.

The downside for the Yankees or any other team is that it might take a promising prospect to pry the 27-year-old out of the Bay Area.

Olson had his best offensive season in 2021, finishing with 39 home runs, 111 RBI and a .911 OPS. His 5.0 WAR was second-best among all first basemen at FanGraphs.

Imagine how he might benefit from the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. In an admittedly limited sample, he's slugging .763 in 43 plate appearances in the Bronx.

New York already has a fearsome top half of the order with DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo and Giancarlo Stanton. Adding Olson to the mix would make the Yankees an even more potent offensive outfit.

Let's be rational. Though there's technically a non-zero chance of Kyler Murray jumping ship from professional football to professional baseball, it's so close to zero that it's arguably not worth taking seriously.

Yet now than ever before, the irrational baseball fan still has reason to hope.

It's been four years since the Oakland Athletics drafted Murray, then a toolsy outfielder for the Oklahoma Sooners, with the No. 9 pick in the 2018 draft. He immediately became one of the top prospects in the team's system, with Baseball America writing that he projected to thrive on "plus power, plus speed and a plus glove."

However, 2018 was also the same year that Murray won the Heisman Trophy as Oklahoma's starting quarterback. That begat his full-time commitment to football, which begat the Arizona Cardinals drafting him first overall in 2019. In three seasons since then, he's milked both his arm and his legs for yards and touchdowns to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year and make two Pro Bowls.

But as good as it's been for both sides until now, the relationship between Murray and the Cardinals now seems like the coldest thing under the Arizona sun. To wit, all mentions of the latter have been scrubbed from the former's Instagram:

Arizona QB Kyler Murray has unfollowed the team & removed all Cardinals-related content from his Instagram.

The only recent content was a picture of himself at the Pro Bowl and a story re-share of a Mike Evans post that said "always wanted to catch a pass from the Texas legend." pic.twitter.com/ltcQTvJcPA

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 7, 2022

You don't go doing something like this on accident, so Murray the football player is clearly dissatisfied about something.

Meanwhile, the A's still hold the rights to Murray the baseball player. And if you're wondering how he would look if he were to trade his Cardinal red for Oakland's green and gold, well, here you go:

👀⚾️ pic.twitter.com/xOlwaLBhTq

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 7, 2022

The rational baseball fan sees this for what it is: a tease. Even if this was the best of times in the baseball world, it wouldn't be realistic to expect the 24-year-old Murray to throw away the pigskin and reach for the cowhide. And with MLB's lockout showing no signs of ending soon, these are certainly not the best of times in baseball.

"That may be," the irrational fan says. "Yet it could still happen. In fact, it should. Nay, it must."

---

Splitsville for Murray and the Cardinals?

Mind you, the irrational fan couldn't be so bold in their thinking if there wasn't so much uncertainty surrounding the Cardinals and Murray. 

As ESPN's Josh Weinfuss wrote in January, the team itself could be at a crossroads with head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Though the team has undeniably improved in his three years on the sidelines, the 2021 Cardinals carved out their own niche among Kingsbury's teams that have started strong only to fade.

And for his part, Murray wasn't blameless in this.

He missed three games in November with a sprained ankle and was then largely ineffective in Arizona's last five regular-season contests. Kingsbury expected his quarterback to rebound with the "game of his life" against the Los Angeles Rams in his playoff debut. Instead, he had six yards rushing, 137 yards passing, no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 34-11 loss.

In so doing, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argued that Murray undercut his chances for a contract extension worthy of, say, Josh Allen's $258 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. Further, Jess Root of USA Today noted that the Cardinals are looking at a salary cap crunch.

Rather than go all in on Murray—and take a great deal on faith in the process—the Cardinals could simply keep him on his current contract for 2022. Maybe then they would extend him. Or, they could simply trigger his fifth-year option for 2023.

Judging from Murray's Instagram stunt, however, he would just as soon be paid now. That's understandable even sans context, but there is the possibility that it's a now-or-never calculus.

Between his relatively diminutive 5'10", 207-pound frame, his recent ankle injury and overall decline of his ground game in 2021, it's fair to wonder if Murray is already be past his peak as a dual-threat quarterback. Instead of risking it all on evolving as a pocket passer, he perhaps should be looking to cash in now.

To this end, one wonders if mingling with other stars at last weekend's Pro Bowl inspired clandestine talk of a possible trade. If not that, Murray's social-media scrub is surely meant to defibrillate some life into extension talks.

Either way, reaching for still more leverage by threatening to walk away to pursue a career in baseball is the next logical step. And whereas the rational baseball fan might see it as such, the irrational fan wouldn't deem it an empty threat.

---

Why Baseball? Why Now?

"Well, why not baseball?" the irrational fan says. "And why not now?"

If nothing else, Murray's love for the game seems intact. Along with football and Esports, he still considers baseball one of his three athletic specialties. And as he told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com in June 2021, he hasn't given up hope of playing baseball again.

"I know everybody around [the organization] probably feels different about it," he said. "But me personally, I played the game my whole life. If I ever had the opportunity, for sure, I would definitely go for it."

After experiencing growing pains at the collegiate level and in the Cape Cod League in 2017, it was as a redshirt sophomore for the Sooners in 2018 that Murray teased what kind of baseball player he could be. In 51 games, he slashed an impressive .296/.398/.556 with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases.

M3 | Kyler Murray gets all of it for his 10th home run of the season.

OU 5, Kansas 0 pic.twitter.com/nUKEJcFLRF

— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 18, 2018

This was even though Murray might not have been giving it his all on the diamond. According to Baseball America, this was not out of laziness but because he was saving some of himself for football "by not cutting loose on throws or on the bases."

Though this made it difficult to scout Murray's present abilities, it did allow for big dreams about his future as a ballplayer. Of the comps that were thrown around, the one comparing him to a Hall of Famer and general baseball legend was justifiably caught his attention.

“The big one is Rickey Henderson,” Murray said in June 2018, shortly after the draft and his signing of a $4.6 million bonus.

Granted, Murray is bound to have rough edges after not playing any competitive baseball over the last four years. On the plus side, he's come into his physical prime. Though he's officially only 12 pounds heavier than the 195-pounder whom the A's drafted in 2018, that's likely a conservative estimate.

So if Murray were indeed to take up a bat and glove again, it could be that his power and speed would sufficiently mask any deficiencies he might have with, say, his pitch recognition and strike-zone discipline. If not the next Henderson, he might at least be a Trea Turner or Bo Bichette.

This is to say that Murray wouldn't necessarily have to languish for years in the minor leagues if he were to leave the gridiron behind. Particularly not, that is, if two proposals make it into baseball's next collective bargaining agreement.

Through the promise of draft picks, one would incentivize teams to more quickly promote their best young players to the majors. Through cash bonuses, another would allow young players to earn substantially more than the league minimum during their pre-arbitation years.

Best-case scenario? Murray jumps to baseball, spends his age-24 season in the minors and is then on Oakland's Opening Day roster for his age-25 season in 2023. He'd make good money for six years, and then be in a position to make a fortune in free agency after his age-30 season in 2028.

Heck, a big payday might even come before then. The A's aren't known for handing out big-money extensions, but that could change if they move into the state-of-the-art ballpark they're trying to build at Howard Terminal in Oakland. Though far from a done deal, it could hypothetically be built and opened within the decade.

What kind of money are we talking about? Well, it's baseball. So, big money. Potentially more than Murray can make in the NFL.

That $258 million deal that Allen signed with Buffalo? Not bad, but it only contained $150 million in guaranteed money. That's less than Javier Baez just got from the Detroit Tigers, and he's not even a superstar.

It's not even out of the question that Murray could top the $503 million superdeal that Patrick Mahomes signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. That's bigger than any individual MLB contract, but roughly equal to what Mike Trout's career earnings will be through 2030.

"So, come on in, Kyler," the irrational baseball fan says. "The water's fine."

---

Of Course, It's Not Going to Happen

The rational baseball fan is right, though. 

It's nice to fantasize and all, but it doesn't move the needle on the realism of Murray quitting football so he can take up baseball again. That's regardless of whether he actually threatens to do so—which, to be clear, is strictly a hypothetical as of this writing.

Sure, maybe he could still find stardom and its accompanying riches in baseball. But the list of things that would have to go right in order for that to happen is not short. It's certainly far longer than what he has to do to achieve his on-field and financial goals in the NFL, which pretty much consists of just one item: more of the same, please.

But if you're a baseball fan—rational or irrational, it doesn't matter—go ahead and have this fantasy anyway.

It is, after all, harmless fun and just plain something to think about in positive terms. That makes it unlike anything actually in the baseball world right now. As long as the lockout persists, it's a frozen wasteland wherein the denizens occupy most of their time arguing about money. The specter of fans being permanently disillusioned by it all is very much there, but it might as well be the doomsday comet from Don't Look Up.

In other words, it's a time for baseball fans to take what they can get. And right now, there isn't a better game in town than The Curious Case of Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.

---

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and Pro Football Reference.

The Atlanta Braves reportedly "discussed" a trade with the Oakland Athletics for first baseman Matt Olson before the lockout, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Such a deal would ostensibly be an insurance plan in the event superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman departs in free agency once the lockout ends.

Priority No. 1 in Atlanta should be re-signing Freeman once the lockout ends. The 2020 MVP hit .300 with 31 homers, 83 RBI, 120 runs and a .896 OPS in 2021, helping lead the Braves to a World Series title. 

The 32-year-old is a five-time All-Star and one-time Gold Glove Award winner and is firmly in his prime. Locking him up to a long-term deal and allowing him to finish his career in Atlanta makes the most sense for the Braves. 

But if those eventual negotiations break down, Olson would be a logical replacement. The 27-year-old hit .271 with 39 homers, 111 RBI, 101 runs and a .911 OPS in 2021, exceeding 30 homers for the second time in his career and hitting at least 20 dingers for the fourth time. 

In many ways, the 2021 All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner is a younger version of Freeman. Whereas the latter would only cost the Braves a major payday to keep, however, Olson is going to cost them a number of prospects and will eventually require a lucrative long-term deal with two years of arbitration remaining. 

As Rosenthal wrote: "Wouldn’t it make more sense to give Freeman say, six years, $165 million, covering his age 32 to 37 seasons, with no loss of prospects? Or even seven years, $180 million if the Braves wish to lower his average annual value?"

And losing Freeman would also remove a fan favorite who was drafted by the team and has spent his entire career in Atlanta. Even if he was replaced with a player of Olson's talent level, losing Freeman wouldn't be a popular move in the city. 

It's all moot until the lockout ends. But the Braves will find themselves in an interesting position once free agency is able to resume. If Freeman walks, Atlanta very well could be one of the teams that jumps into the Olson bidding war. 

The Oakland Athletics have found their next manager after agreeing to a deal with Mark Kotsay, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

Oakland's managerial job became open when Bob Melvin agreed to a three-year deal with the San Diego Padres.

AJ Cassavell of MLB.com noted the A's didn't receive compensation for the move because they gave the 60-year-old permission to interview with the Padres. 

Melvin leaves big shoes to fill in Oakland after a successful 11-year run with the organization. He took over the Athletics on an interim basis midway through the 2011 season after Bob Geren was fired. 

Only Hall of Famer Connie Mack has more wins than Melvin's 853 in A's franchise history. He led them to six playoff appearances and three division titles in Oakland. 

Kotsay is familiar with the organization having spent four seasons in Oakland as a player from 2004-07. 

After his playing career ended, he moved into the coaching ranks and was hired by the San Diego Padres as their hitting coach in 2015. 

The 46-year-old spent one season with the Padres before being hired by the A's as their bench coach. He was named their quality control coach in 2017 under Melvin and spent five seasons in that role. 

The Oakland Athletics are reportedly casting a wide net as they look for their next manager.

Britt Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Mark Kotsay, Matt Quatraro, Will Venable, Joe Espada, Marcus Jensen and Darren Bush have all either interviewed or will interview for the position. Kotsay, Jensen and Bush are all part of the Athletics' organization.

The position is open because Bob Melvin left the team to become the manager of the San Diego Padres.

Oakland isn't the only team reportedly interested in some of these candidates.

Adam Berry of MLB.com reported the New York Mets requested permission to interview Quatraro, who is the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. Berry noted Quatraro previously interviewed for the manager position with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers.

Elsewhere, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com listed Espada, who is the bench coach for the Houston Astros, as a potential candidate for the Mets as well.

Kotsay stands out as someone who played from 1997 through 2013 for the Florida Marlins, Padres, Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. He was with San Diego for a time after his retirement and is currently the third base coach for Oakland.

Venable also played from 2008 through 2016 for the Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was on the staff for the Chicago Cubs after his retirement but is currently the bench coach for the Red Sox.

The Athletics are also looking to bounce back in 2022 after missing the playoffs at 86-76 during the 2021 campaign.

It was the first time the American League West team missed the postseason since the 2017 campaign, although it is still trying to win the World Series for the first time since the 1989 season.                 

The Oakland Athletics are reportedly "shooting for the moon" in Matt Olson trade discussions, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. It does not come as a surprise given the fact that the first baseman has two years remaining on his contract.

The news comes after Heyman reported A's general manager David Forst is willing to listen to trades for every player.

SNY's Andy Martino also reported earlier this month that Olson is among "several A's players who will likely be on the move" this winter. The former first-round pick has two years of salary arbitration remaining and won't become a free agent until after the 2023 campaign.

The A's are looking to shed payroll and rebuild the franchise this offseason, and one of the best ways to do that is to part ways with star players like Olson, Frankie Montas and Matt Chapman.

Olson, a two-time Gold Glover, boosted his trade value during the 2021 season, slashing .271/.371/.540 (.911 OPS) with a career-high 39 home runs and 111 RBI. He also earned his first All-Star nod and participated in the Home Run Derby.

In addition, the 27-year-old led all American League first basemen in defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs, but lost out on snagging his third Gold Glove to Houston Astros infielder Yuli Gurriel. He finished eighth in AL MVP voting.

Olson has already been linked to the New York Yankees this winter, which comes as no surprise as the franchise looks to upgrade at several positions ahead of the 2022 campaign.

The Yankees relied on Anthony Rizzo and Luke Voit at first base last season, but Rizzo is now a free agent and Voit is eligible for arbitration. The Pinstripes have also been linked to several other players this winter, including free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to Heyman.

It's unclear which other teams might be interested in Olson. However, B/R's Zachary D. Rymer lists the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Yankees as the best landing spots for the Georgia native.  

The Oakland Athletics could be following in the Las Vegas Raiders' footsteps. 

The A's have made an offer on an unspecified Las Vegas site that could be used for a new ballpark, team president Dave Kaval told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

"We're kind of moving from a phase of research/data gathering to action around a final site," Kaval told Akers. "That's really important because the site selection is a really critical path to keep the process moving forward to where we could have a holistically blessed project."

The A's have made several trips to Las Vegas as they continue to scope out potential relocation sites amid negotiations for a new stadium in Oakland. The team was expected to reveal a list of Las Vegas finalists after the World Series, but Akers says that is no longer happening. 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred pushed the A's to begin exploring relocation options in May. 

However, Oakland has recently stepped up its efforts to keep the A's in town, with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announcing Friday the city is receiving $14.5 million in federal grants that could be used for the A's ballpark project. 

The A's have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968. They previously shared the stadium with the Raiders before the team moved to Las Vegas, where they now play at the brand new Allegiant Stadium, which cost $1.9 billion to build. 

If the A's were to move to Las Vegas, they would join a growing number of professional teams in the area, including the Raiders, the NHL's Golden Knights and the WNBA's Aces. It would also be the fourth time the franchise has moved. They previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City. 

On the other hand, if the team was to remain in Oakland, it would likely build its new ballpark at a waterfront facility near Howard Terminal.  

The New York Yankees are "definitely interested" in trading for Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, per Jack Curry of the YES Network.

"The Yankees have made inquiries about Matt Olson with the A's, but I'm hearing there hasn't been any detailed conversations about which players would be involved in a potential deal," Curry tweeted.

"Obviously, that can change with one call or one text. Yankees are definitely interested."

The 27-year-old hit .271 (.911 OPS) with 39 home runs and 111 RBI last season. It was an impressive year for Olson, a two-time Gold Glover who also made his first All-Star Game in 2021.

Olson is under team control for two more seasons, making him eligible for free agency in 2024 after a pair of arbitration years.

The Yankees were rolling with Anthony Rizzo and Luke Voit at first base by season's end, with the former player receiving the bulk of the work after the Bronx Brombers acquired him in a midseason trade with the Chicago Cubs.

Rizzo is a free agent now, while Voit is eligible for arbitration.

New York is looking to improve upon a 92-70 season that ended with an American League Wild Card Game loss to the Boston Red Sox. Questions litter the infield, and a shortstop would appear to be very high on the team's priority list.

Adding a left-handed power bat tailor-made for the Yankee Stadium short right field porch in Olson would be a major plus, and the fantastic glove is a bonus.

It appears that Olson is available with the A's looking to cut payroll and rebuild the franchise. SNY's Andy Martino reported on that in addition to the Yankees' potential interest in the first baseman on Nov. 8:

Somewhere in all that haze, though, is one near-certainty for the Yankees: Matt Olson, the All-Star first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, is there for the taking. Given Oakland’s history of trading big names as they become more expensive in salary arbitration, Yankee fans have already been salivating over Olson’s hypothetical availability. To that we can add reporting: Multiple league executives in touch with the A’s say that another reset is coming from the franchise, and Olson is one of several players who will likely be on the move.

The Yankees would also likely have competition for one of the greatest 30-and-under hitters in baseball, so it's certainly not a guarantee New York lands him. Plus, the asking price won't be cheap for Olson either.

Still, Olson could certainly be worth it as the Yankees try to make the World Series for the first time since 2009, which marks the team's only championship in the past 21 seasons.