Athletics

The Oakland Athletics reportedly aren't willing to give up on Kyler Murray's baseball career just yet.

Murray appeared to call it quits on a potential Major League Baseball career when he announced "I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback," but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Oakland still believes the Oklahoma product could suit up for its team.

Rosenthal noted the A's have recently received "conflicting signals" from Murray and "believe Murray's statement was crafted by his football agent, Erik Burkhardt of Select Sports Group, to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the NFL—the kind of commitment NFL teams wanted to hear."

Oakland selected Murray with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft but signed him to a contract that allowed him to play football for a season with the Sooners.

Rosenthal noted the team always planned on allowing him to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine and still holds the "trump card" of being able to offer him a major league contract in addition to his $4.66 million signing bonus.

While that, plus the injury risk and lack of consistent guaranteed contracts in the NFL, would seemingly favor a baseball career, Jon Taylor of Sports Illustrated highlighted the financial benefits of playing the quarterback position.

He pointed out Baker Mayfield signed a $32.7 million deal with a $21.8 million signing bonus as last year's top overall pick, while even Lamar Jackson received a $9.5 million contract with a $4.7 million signing bonus as the No. 32 pick. Murray could also renegotiate his rookie deal after three years in football but would have to play six seasons prior to free agency in baseball even if he were immediately given a major league contract.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Murray will return $1.29 million of the $1.5 million in signing bonus Oakland gave him last year and then give up the other $3.16 million by March 1. While the Athletics have the right to put him on the restricted list, they will not receive a compensatory draft pick.

Oakland allowed him to play football for the Sooners, and he took full advantage during the 2018 season with 4,361 passing yards, 1,001 rushing yards and 54 total touchdowns on his way to the Heisman Trophy and a College Football Playoff appearance. There are questions about his size, but he is the top dual-threat playmaker in the upcoming draft.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected him to go No. 7 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in his latest mock draft. Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins (No. 6) is the only quarterback projected to go ahead of Murray.

The Oakland Athletics remain confident Kyler Murray will show up to spring training in just under two weeks after he declared for the 2019 NFL draft. 

Per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press, A's manager Bob Melvin said the team's expectation right now is for Murray to be in Arizona on Feb. 15 when position players report to camp: 

“As we’re sitting here right now we expect him to be in spring training. Now, look, he has opened up some doors for himself that the world is literally his oyster right now, and I will be for whatever he chooses to do. The football thing, you win the Heisman Trophy and you get drafted in the first round, how often does that happen? He is that type of athlete and he’s going to have a great career in whatever he chooses to do, and we will support whatever he chooses to do. But at this point in time we haven’t heard anything different and I’m expecting him to be in spring training. If something changes in the meantime then we deal with it.”

Murray is still deciding if he will play Major League Baseball or in the NFL next season. The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner took the necessary first step toward a career in pro football on Jan. 14 by declaring for the draft. 

One NFL scout told B/R's Matt Miller that Murray "could absolutely go first overall" in April's draft if he sticks with football. 

If Murray decides to forgo an MLB career, he will have to return the $4.7 million signing bonus he received in June. 

The A's remain in the mix to have their 2018 first-round draft pick play baseball. He could show up for spring training while still preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine, which runs from Feb. 26 to March 4 in Indianapolis.  

Kyler Murray has proved he's no fool.

Murray was drafted into Major League Baseball in June by the Oakland Athletics, who selected him as an outfielder with the No. 9 pick and promptly signed him to a $4.7 million bonus.

Since then, the 21-year-old has kept himself busy by playing quarterback well enough for the Oklahoma Sooners to become the program's second consecutive Heisman Trophy winner. That begat a big decision of whether he should declare for the National Football League draft by Monday's deadline.

Early in the afternoon, the man himself announced his decision on Twitter:

I have declared for the NFL Draft.

— Kyler Murray (@K1) January 14, 2019

As MLB.com's Jane Lee noted, Murray's decision was merely a procedural move.

He's still under contract with the A's. Things will get interesting in February, wherein the A's open spring training on the 15th and the NFL combine starts on the 26th. Because it's already been decided that Murray can't play both baseball and football, next month is when another decision will be in order.

Though MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi reported Murray would have to give back his signing bonus if he spurns the A's and MLB, doing exactly that and going all-out for an NFL career is about as no-brainery as no-brainers get.

It's not that Murray's some slouch as a baseball player. He was a top-10 pick, after all, and he draws comparisons to some of the greatest talents in the sport's history.

"The big one is Rickey Henderson," said Murray himself in reference to the Hall of Famer and all-time steals leader, per Lee. "I've watched a lot of his film. Great player, great legend, obviously, but I'm pretty confident in my own skills."

According to Joel Anderson and Jake Trotter of ESPN.com, one MLB executive went with a current superstar who's won two American League MVPs: "[Murray's] that type of freak athlete, where the fact that he had a stunted development and didn't play for a couple of years might not matter. That's like Mike Trout-type athletic."

Per MLB.com, Murray's hit, power, speed and fielding tools rate as average or better. Ironically, the one that doesn't make the grade is his arm. But as evidenced by Trout, one need not have a rocket arm to become a superstar center fielder as long as everything else checks out.

But now for the catch: Murray's baseball talent is raw.

He played baseball well enough in high school that he might have been a first-round pick in the 2015 draft had he not opted out of it to pursue a two-sport career at Texas A&M. But after he transferred to Oklahoma later that year, he missed the 2016 baseball season. A year later, he played just 27 games with only 49 at-bats for the Sooners.

Though Murray rescued his stock last spring by slashing .296/.398/.556 with 10 home runs and 10 steals in 51 games, his rawness manifested in a 25.1 percent strikeout rate. A player like this is more high-ceiling than high-floor. That means the A's couldn't skimp on minor league development time for Murray, which in turns means he'd probably be looking at a 2021 ETA for his major league debut.

Murray would only be entitled to the major league minimum ($555,000) through 2023 or 2024. Only after that would he start earning bigger paydays via arbitration, but there would be three years of that before a (perhaps) bigger free-agent payday after 2026 or 2027. He'd be 30 years old in the latter season.

Last week, ESPN's Adam Schefter (via NFL reporter Dov Kleiman) floated the possibility that Murray could go as high as No. 1 overall to the Arizona Cardinals in April's NFL draft:

#Cardinals might be open to Draft Kyler Murray 1st overall and trade away 2018, 10th overall pick QB Josh Rosen, per @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/N0JO8XUvYv

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 10, 2019

It's not just Schefter who has suggested Murray is worthy of the No. 1 pick. Former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury gave Murray that much credit in October. This same Kingsbury is now the Cardinals' head coach.

If he's not the No. 1 overall selection, the sense Bleacher Report's Matt Miller got from 10 NFL scouts and executives is that Murray is a "lock" for the first round. Based on the numbers he just put up—4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns passing and 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing—that seems reasonable.

At either end of the first round, Murray would be in line for better money than he got from the A's. To wit, Murray's former Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield collected a $21.9 million signing bonus and $32.7 million overall as the No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns last year. Even all the way down at No. 32, Lamar Jackson got a $5.0 million bonus and $9.5 million total from the Baltimore Ravens.

Neither of them had to wait long to start. Chances are Murray wouldn't have to either. And because it's easier than ever for quarterbacks to succeed in the NFL—Kevin Clark of The Ringer has more on that—Murray could also quickly follow Mayfield's and Jackson's paths to early stardom.

It would soon be time for Murray to get paid even more. If his rookie contract resembled Mayfield's and Jackson's—four years with a club option for a fifth—he would likely become a free agent after the 2023 season. If he hadn't signed a big deal before then, that would be his path to one.

With football, there's the obvious concern of a serious injury ruining everything during or after Murray's career. But quarterback has always been a relatively safe position, and the NFL has been going to extremes to make it even safer.

Murray is thus in the best position possible for a long career in the NFL, and he could earn far more than he ever could as an MLB outfielder. Here's JJ Cooper of Baseball America with a helpful breakdown:

Numbers for MLB OFs
0 active MLB OFs have made $200m+
3 active MLB OFs have made $150m+
10 active MLB OFs have made $100m+
23 active MLB OFs have made $50m+
35 active MLB OFs have made $25m+
56 active MLB OFs have made $10m+

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) January 14, 2019

In the face of this, all the A's can do in the next few weeks is try to entice Murray with more money up front. To this end, WFAA's Mike Leslie reported Murray's magic number is $15 million.

That isn't accurate, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. But in light of what he could earn via the NFL draft, $15 million might actually be a conservative estimate of what it would take for the A's to sway Murray. Mind you, any extra money the A's give him would have to come in the form of a major league contract and a spot on their 40-man roster.

Even then, though, Murray's timeline wouldn't necessarily be accelerated.

The only real stipulation (h/t Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times) is that he would have to be with the A's on a full-time basis by 2022, when he'd be in the last of four minor league option years. He'd still have to prove himself in the minors beforehand, and he'd still be six or seven years from free agency upon joining the A's.

To boot, baseball free agency could disappoint Murray. Big bucks have become scarce enough on the last two free-agent markets to raise concerns about a possible work stoppage in the near future. Perhaps the crisis will be resolved when MLB and the MLB Players Association negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires in 2021. Then again, perhaps it won't.

If Murray does end up choosing football, MLB will have some serious soul-searching to do about what it must change to have a shot at retaining similar exceptional talents in the future.

The NFL, meanwhile, should be more than happy to have Murray if he goes through its door. Football is what he does best, so he could be worth as many pennies as the sport sends his way.

   

Stats courtesy of D1Baseball.com and Sports Reference. Contract data courtesy of Spotrac.

The Oakland Athletics drafted Kyler Murray No. 8 overall in the 2018 MLB draft, and it appeared the Oklahoma quarterback's future would be in baseball.  

But with rumors circulating that Murray will instead choose a career in the NFL, the Athletics are reportedly making a pitch to Murray to reconsider, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

The Oakland #Athletics have a contingent, led by president Billy Beane, meeting today with Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray in hopes of persuading him to forego the #NFL and play baseball for them. They drafted him 9th overall last summer and gave him a $4.66 million bonus.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 13, 2019

According to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on Jan. 9, the Athletics have expected Murray to declare for the NFL draft and that the team "might consider allowing Murray to go the [NFL Scouting Combine], a move that would require the approval of Major League Baseball."

Per Slusser, Murray would have to pay back his signing bonus if he chose football over baseball, though the Athletics wouldn't receive a compensation pick for losing Murray.

"That's a huge problem, not getting a draft pick back," a source told Slusser. "That would be really bad."

A part of his agreement with the Athletics after he was drafted was that Murray would play one year at Oklahoma before reporting to spring training with Oakland. But Murray promptly emerged as one of college football's brightest stars this past season, throwing 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 1,001 yards and 12 additional scores.

That earned him the Heisman Trophy and called into question which sport Murray would ultimately choose. The fact Murray is considered "a lock as a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft," per B/R's Matt Miller, further makes the NFL a viable option. 

As one scout told Miller:

"I've gone back and forth. I'm kind of stubborn and old-school, so I've said hell no for the last two months. But in today's game—in a wide-open offense—he has a chance. I mean, he's been the best player by far at every level he's played at, so I can't be surprised if he's a solid quarterback. His tape is hard to evaluate because it's so many 10-second plays holding the ball. He never sets his feet in the pocket and he's tiny. But in all honesty, I kind of think Baltimore would've been better with him than Lamar [Jackson] this past Sunday."

Another scout added that Murray had the talent to play in the NFL but his small stature—he's listed at 5'10"—could be an issue. 

Murray could also try his hand at being a two-sport star, though trying to balance the responsibilities of being an NFL quarterback while playing an entirely different sport seems untenable. Murray is going to have to ultimately choose, and all indications are pointing to him picking football. 

Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray hasn't announced his intentions for 2019, but the Oakland Athletics are anticipating he will give serious consideration to the NFL.

Per Henry Schulman and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's are expecting Murray to declare for the 2019 NFL draft.

Despite the possibility of Murray exploring his NFL options, one source told Schulman and Slusser it would not be "contractually significant" if he declares.

The key date for Murray's baseball career is Feb. 15, when the Athletics position players report to spring training:

"He could still opt to be in the A's camp, but the NFL scouting combine begins Feb. 26 and any high-round hopeful would be expected to attend. That's when Murray would have to make a decision between football and baseball, and one source told The Chronicle that Murray, a likely first-round NFL pick, is leaning toward football."

Slusser reported Oakland gave its 2018 first-round draft pick an invite to MLB camp.

If Murray chooses the NFL over MLB, he will have to return the $4.66 million signing bonus he received from the A's. Sports Illustrated's Kalyn Kahler reported last month the Oklahoma quarterback is receiving an NFL draft grade from the College Advisory Committee.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2019 NFL draft is Jan. 14.

Murray won the 2018 Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns to help the Sooners win the Big 12 Championship and make the College Football Playoff.

Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. 

Passan also reported that Lucroy completed his physical and can earn more than $4 million with performance bonuses.

A nine-year veteran, the 32-year-old Lucroy slashed .241/.291/.325 and had four home runs and 51 RBI in 126 games for the Oakland Athletics last season. Those figures were a bit off his career .277/.337/.421 mark, so perhaps a change in scenery to a more hitter-friendly park will boost his offensive totals.

As Passan noted, the Angels have been active buyers during the hot stove season: Starting pitchers Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill and slugging first baseman Justin Bour have each inked one-year deals.

That trio plus Lucroy are all coming off down seasons. Harvey had a 4.94 ERA, and Bour hit just .227. Cahill had a great first half of the year but pitched to a 5.14 ERA in his last eight games and 4.55 mark after a month-long disabled list stint in June and July.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler is clearly looking for players coming off disappointing campaigns who have experienced greater success in past years, hoping that they return close to their previous forms.

In Lucroy's case, he's just two years removed from hitting 24 home runs, knocking in 81 runners and slashing .292/.355/.500. Baseball Prospectus also ranked him as the league's seventh-best pitch framer during 2016.

However, Lucroy's pitch framing has fallen hard to No. 106 in 2018, and he's struggled at the dish.

Still, these moves are smart deals. Eppler isn't making any long-term commitments, and if he catches lightning in a bottle with a few of these veterans, then the Angels can compete for a wild-card berth.

They'll always be competitive with superstar Mike Trout in the mix, but with a better team around him, L.A. can take the next step in 2019.

After he finished last season on a high note, Mike Fiers is returning to the Oakland Athletics on a two-year deal, the team announced Monday. 

MLB Network's Jon Morosi first reported Saturday that Fiers' agreement with the A's would be worth between $14-15 million through the 2020 season. 

The A's acquired Fiers from the Detroit Tigers in August to boost their rotation for the stretch run. He stabilized a pitching staff that used 15 different starters because of injuries. 

Fiers had a 3.74 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 53 innings over 10 appearances after the trade. The 33-year-old could be a regression candidate after he allowed 12 homers in his short stint with the A's, but the spacious Oakland Coliseum will help contain some of those fly balls. 

It also helps that the Athletics defense is among the best in Major League Baseball. Oakland led the AL with 61 defensive runs saved in 2018, per FanGraphs. 

The strength of Oakland's pitching staff is a deep bullpen, anchored by All-Star closer Blake Treinen and setup ace Lou Trivino. Fiers is the perfect innings-eater for the middle of the A's starting rotation to keep games close before getting to the deep stable of relievers.    

The Texas Rangers have traded infielder Jurickson Profar to the Oakland Athletics in a three-team deal that includes the Tampa Bay Rays, according to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.

Per Passan:

• Oakland receives Profar
• Texas receives LHP Brock Burke, infielder Eli White, LHP Kyle Bird, RHP Yoel Espinal and international money
• Tampa Bay receives RHP Emilio Pagan, RHP Rollie Lacy and the 38th pick in the 2019 draft

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal further detailed the trade:

Profar signed with Texas as an international free agent in 2009 and ultimately worked his way into one of the organization's top prospects. However, he has gotten off to a slow start in the big leagues, hitting .240 in 352 appearances for Texas. He also missed the entire 2014 and 2015 seasons due to a shoulder injury.

He is coming off his best season to date, though, after hitting .254/.335/.458 with 20 home runs, 35 doubles, six triples and 77 RBI in 146 games this year.  The switch-hitter fanned just 88 times in 594 plate appearances, so his ability to put the bat on the ball should help a team that ranked seventh in the American League in strikeouts a season ago.

Profar figures to see most of his action in Oakland at second base, although he has played all around the infield and even some left field in his career.

The 25-year-old is under club control through the 2020 season.

Meanwhile, Texas receives, among other assets, a talented arm in Burke in return. A 2014 third-round pick, Burke went 9-6 with a 3.08 ERA in 25 appearances (22 starts) between High-A and Double-A this past season, going an impressive 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA in nine starts at Double-A. The southpaw struck out 158 batters in 137.1 innings.

Baseball America's JJ Cooper noted that Burke would be a top-10 prospect in most organizations, while one scout told Passan that Burke is a "very underrated arm." Per Passan, the 22-year-old Burke could debut in the majors in 2020, if not sooner.

Not to be forgotten, White was the 17th-ranked prospect in the A's organization, according to MLB.com. The 24-year-old is coming off a strong performance in 2018, hitting .306/.388/.450 with nine home runs, 30 doubles, eight triples and 55 RBI in 130 games at Double-A.

White has spent the majority of his professional career at shortstop but has made 14 appearances in the outfield.

As he moves on to Tampa Bay, Pagan now joins his third team in three years. After debuting for the Seattle Mariners in 2017, the right-hander spent the 2018 season with Oakland, going 3-1 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.194 WHIP in 55 outings, striking out 63 batters in 62 innings. He held right-handers to a .196 average this year.

Lacy was drafted in the 11th round by the Chicago Cubs last year and was part of the midseason trade that sent Cole Hamels from Texas to Chicago. The 23-year-old right-hander went 6-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 24 games, including 18 starts, between two levels of Single-A this past season season. 

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman underwent surgery on his left shoulder Friday and won't be able to swing a bat for approximately six weeks.

The A's announced the update and noted it was the second offseason surgery for Chapman, who had a procedure on his right thumb in October.

Chapman backed up a solid rookie year in 2017—which featured 14 home runs in 84 games—with a terrific all-around campaign.

The 25-year-old Cal State Fullerton product posted a .278/.356/.508 slash line with 24 homers across 145 appearances. He also led all qualified MLB fielders with 29 defensive runs saved, eight more than the next-highest players (Andrelton Simmons and Nick Ahmed), per FanGraphs.

Pairing those two facets of his game with his above-average baserunning skills, the end result was the sixth-highest WAR in the American League.

Despite multiple accolades for his work on the field, including the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award as the top fielder in all of MLB, he lamented his 20 errors following the regular season.

"Definitely proud of it, but a lot of room to get better, I think," he told reporters. "I made too many errors for my liking. But our defense has gotten just better and better, and I think it goes for the amount of work our coaches help us with positioning and the extra work they do with ground balls or whatever it is, and the guys' on our team work ethic."

A six-week timetable would allow him to swing a bat again by early February, just before the start of spring training.

So, while the A's may bring him along slowly during the initial stages of the exhibition slate after his two offseason surgeries, he should be ready for Opening Day barring any setbacks.

Oklahoma quarterback and outfielder Kyler Murray, who the Oakland Athletics picked ninth overall in the 2018 MLB draft, is deciding between a professional baseball or football career (or both). 

The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner would have to pay the A's a hefty sum if he chooses football, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network:

Can confirm Kyler Murray’s contract with #Athletics includes a provision whereby he’d forgo/repay a very large portion of his signing bonus if he opts to play in the NFL. @MLB @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 12, 2018

Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reported in June that the A's gave Murray a $5 million signing bonus.

Murray dominated college football last season thanks to 51 total touchdowns, a 70.9 percent completion rate and 892 rushing yards. He's also accomplished a lot on the collegiate diamond thanks to 10 home runs, 47 RBI, a .954 OPS and 10 stolen bases last season.

But where does his professional athletic future reside?

Murray's agent, Scott Boras, told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network over the phone last week that his client's future was in baseball.

"Kyler has agreed and the A's agreed to a baseball contract that gave him permission to play college football through the end of the collegiate season," Boras said. "After that, he is under contract to play baseball. That is not a determination to make. It's already done."

However, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle noted, Boras didn't take as much of a hard-line stance in a talk with media on Wednesday.

In response to a question from the Chronicle about whether Boras was certain Murray would not enter the NFL draft, the super agent said the following:

"When you win the Heisman Trophy, you’re going to have a lot of information come to you and be looked at. All I know is that Kyler has a tremendous opportunity to be a great baseball player and he knows that. I think, certainly, that opportunity is already in place, and he has every intention to be in spring training and advance that interest."

Murray has a tremendous athletic future waiting him regardless of whatever path he chooses. The most exciting question is whether he'll try to pull off a two-sport professional career a la Deion Sanders or Bo Jackson. If that's the case, then Murray will do something no one has done since 1997 when Sanders last accomplished the feat.