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Latest On Kyler Murray, Athletics

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8:30pm: Murray and his camp haven’t made any salary demands in talks with the Athletics, Slusser reports (Twitter link).

5:35pm: Kyler Murray has until tomorrow to declare his eligibility for the NFL Draft, and a contingent from the A’s front office (including Billy Beane and David Forst) is meeting with the two-sport star and his camp today to try and convince him to remain in the Athletics’ farm system rather than pursue a pro football career.  The situation could result in a unique resolution between the two sides and the league itself, as ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan is reporting (Twitter links) that if the A’s and Murray can agree to a Major League contract that would guarantee Murray more money for sticking with baseball, Major League Baseball wouldn’t object.

As Passan explains in follow-up tweets, league rules prevent a team from signing a drafted player to an MLB contract straight out of the draft.  In Murray’s case, he has already signed a minor league deal last summer, which included a $4.6MM bonus as the ninth overall selection in the 2018 draft.  Since Murray is already technically under contract, no league rules would be broken if Oakland was to sign him to a Major League contract now and add him to its 40-man roster.  As Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times notes (Twitter link), Major League Baseball wouldn’t believe that Murray and the A’s were in violation of the draft pool system with this new contract unless the league felt such a handshake agreement for more money was made last summer, before Murray was originally signed.

The eye-popping news comes in the wake of reports from earlier today from WFAA’s Mike Leslie, who heard from a source that Murray wanted $15MM in new money to forego the NFL for the Athletics.  While Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the $15MM figure is “too high,” she notes that the A’s and Murray’s representatives from the Boras Corporation “are working on trying something creative to accommodate” a new agreement.

Since being drafted by the A’s last summer, Murray’s star has risen following a season that saw the quarterback win the Heisman Trophy and lead Oklahoma to a slot in the College Football Playoff.  Slusser and Henry Schulman of the Chronicle reported earlier this week that Murray was now leaning towards declaring for the NFL Draft, as he’d gain more money beyond $4.66MM (which would be given back to the A’s) as a potential first-round pick, and Murray could potentially be on an NFL field as soon as September, rather than facing at least a few seasons in the minors before cracking the Athletics’ Major League roster.

Perhaps with a nod to Murray’s higher profile, Major League Baseball sent some marketing executives to today’s meeting between Murray and the A’s front office, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports.  As Passan put it, the league’s willingness to permit a Major League contract this early in Murray’s pro baseball career is indicative of how “special a situation” MLB considers Murray’s case to be, as “Murray in MLB would be a coup.”

It stands to reason that other teams could raise objections to a new Murray contract, though the circumstances are unique enough that it isn’t likely to lead to a future flurry of teams trying to find loopholes around the draft pool system.  One rival general manager tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that “Everyone knows this isn’t circumvention….I actually hope the A’s can get it done. It would be good for the game for Murray to play baseball.”

The other interesting wrinkle about a new contract is that it would tweak Murray’s timeline to the majors.  If Murray is placed on the 40-man roster, 2019 would become his first option year, so he’d be out of options following the 2022 season.  That leaves the A’s with less time to access Murray’s prospect potential, though the club clearly sees that as a preferred scenario to losing Murray (and wasting a first-round pick) entirely should he opt for the NFL.

Central Notes: Machado, Cardinals, Reds, Zimmer

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Could the White Sox now be the favorites to land Manny Machado?  Despite whispers of a mystery team being involved in Machado’s market, the Sox, Yankees, and Phillies were known to be the three clubs most heavily pursuing the free agent infielder.  However, with the Yankees addressing their infield needs elsewhere and the Phillies perhaps now in the driver’s seat to sign Bryce Harper, it leaves the White Sox as potentially the last team standing for Machado.  While things seem to be leaning in the Pale Hose’s direction right now, an industry source tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that “everything is still on the table” in regards to where Machado or Harper could sign.  “These guys are still so young (both 26), so if things aren’t what they want they could gamble and take a much shorter deal and try [free agency] again in the near future,” the source speculated.

More from both the AL and NL Central divisions…

  • The Cardinals have yet to hold any extension talks with Paul Goldschmidt, Marcell Ozuna, or Michael Wacha, GM Michael Girsch told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other media.  All three players are scheduled for free agency next winter, and while negotiations could yet take place later in the offseason, Girsch said “We’ll see how this year goes” in regards to the trio.  Since Goldschmidt has yet to play a game in a Cards uniform, it would be very surprising to see him ink an extension before getting a chance to test the open market.  As for Ozuna and Wacha, it makes sense for the Cardinals to see how either player bounces back from an injury-marred 2018 before making a long-term commitment.  Ozuna was solid but unspectacular last season, hitting .280/.325/.433 with 23 homers over 628 plate appearances while dealing with nagging shoulder issues.  Wacha, meanwhile, didn’t pitch after June 20 due to an oblique injury.
  • If the Reds could only spend their money on either Dallas Keuchel or A.J. Pollock, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon feels the team would choose Keuchel, given the greater need for rotation help.  Both players have been linked to the Reds in hot stove rumors this winter, and while Cincinnati has made some notable additions (i.e. Alex Wood and Tanner Roark) to its starting five, it still lacks a top-of-the-rotation arm.  Without Pollock or another true center fielder, the Reds could at least make do at the position in the short term, using some combination of Scott Schebler, Yasiel Puig, and Nick Senzel between the corners.  In another question in Sheldon’s mailbag piece, he doesn’t feel Jesse Winker will be an option in center field due to Winker’s lack of range.
  • Indians outfielder Bradley Zimmer is hoping to beat his recovery timetable as he rehabs from shoulder surgery, telling MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and other reporters that “I feel like I’ll be ready for Spring Training.”  Zimmer was slated for an eight-to-twelve month absence from baseball activities after undergoing labrum surgery last July, so he feels he is making good progress, while acknowledging that “the timetable is not really in my hands, as far as my progression.”  Still, it seems to be a good sign that the former top prospect is looking to hit the field sooner rather than later, especially since the Tribe is sore need of outfield help.  Zimmer has just a .237/.300/.370 slash line over 446 PA in the big leagues, though he has already displayed some quality baserunning and slick glovework in his brief time at the MLB level.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Slow Offseason, Grandal, Brewers, Bumgarner, Phillies

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

NL East Notes: Harper, Phillies, Braves, Pollock, Nationals

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After meeting with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper on Saturday, the Phillies are reportedly the No. 1 contenders to sign the six-time All-Star. On the heels of the Phillies’ summit with Harper, owner John Middleton and general manager Matt Klentak shed some light on what the team accomplished by meeting with him and Scott Boras. “I think it was really positive,” Middleton told 6ABC (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com), and Klentak agreed. “We got to understand the man,” Middleton continued. “We got to understand what he’d be like in the dugout, the clubhouse and the community. He and his wife are really an impressive young couple.” The Phillies’ contingent made a long presentation to Harper’s camp, though they reportedly haven’t issued him an offer yet.

More on a couple other NL East clubs…

  • The Braves, with an opening in their outfield, are among potential bidders for free agent A.J. Pollock, Buster Olney of ESPN observes (subscription required). Although, Mark Bowman of MLB.com notes there’s “hesitance” in submitting a multiyear offer to Pollock, who’s already 31 and has battled significant injury issues on an all-too-regular basis. A one-year deal could be sensible for Atlanta, however, as Bowman contends that the team has the financial flexibility to make such a move. But as Olney points out, signing Pollock – who rejected the Diamondbacks’ qualifying offer – would cost the Braves their second-round pick in this summer’s draft. The club could view that as a fairly steep price to pay for a short-term solution.
  • More on the Braves, who have hired Dana Brown as vice president of scouting, per Bowman. The 51-year-old Brown will help take over for longtime director of scouting Brian Bridges, whom the Braves dismissed Wednesday, as Carlos Collazo of Baseball America was among those to cover. Brown had been with the Blue Jays the past nine seasons, and he’ll now reunite in Atlanta with close friend and Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was Toronto’s GM from 2009-15.
  • While the Nationals have been connected to free-agent left-hander Wade Miley as a potential No. 5 starter, it’s doubtful they’ll add anyone else to their rotation on a guaranteed contract, Jamal Collier of MLB.com hears. That should rule out Miley and other free agents who are in line to receive major league deals, though Collier doesn’t close the door on the Nationals bringing in rotation candidates on minors pacts. Regardless, Washington’s starting staff is already in enviable shape, as the team has signed Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez to accompany Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and perhaps either Joe Ross or Erick Fedde.

Phillies Reportedly Favorites To Sign Bryce Harper

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SUNDAY: The Phillies are “clear-cut” favorites to sign Harper, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale hears from multiple sources. The Nationals, on the other hand, are fading in the sweepstakes, and team executives are calling it a “long shot” that he’ll re-sign with them. Nightengale reports. Washington isn’t prepared to pay Harper more than $25MM per year, Nightengale suggests. The Phillies, meanwhile, haven’t submitted a formal offer to Harper yet, but that should change during the upcoming week, according to Nightengale.

SATURDAY: After conducting a face-to-face meeting in Las Vegas with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper on Saturday, the Phillies “remain optimistic” they’ll emerge from the offseason having signed him or free-agent infielder Manny Machado, Matt Breen of Philly.com reports. At the very least, the Phillies will be finalists for both Harper and Machado, Breen adds.

The Phillies entered the winter with owner John Middleton declaring that money wouldn’t stand in the way of upgrading a team which has missed the playoffs seven years in a row. And signing either Harper or Machado has always stood out as the clearest path to improving the Phillies’ roster, as the two 26-year-old superstars are easily the premier players on the open market. Given both the Phillies’ financial might and their need for at least one of those players, it’s “likely” they’ll put forth the richest offers for both Harper and Machado, according to Breen.

If the Phillies are only able to pick one, it’d be Machado, whom they “seem to prefer,” Breen writes. However, the Phillies have “signaled” to him that they are also interested in Harper – a move that Breen posits could pressure Machado to accept an offer from them. Notably, since the Phillies met with Machado in December, they’ve added one of his confidants to their staff, having hired former Orioles infield coach Bobby Dickerson in the same role. Dickerson was with the Orioles during Machado’s entire run with the team from 2012-18. Meanwhile, the White Sox – who look like the only other team seriously pursuing Machado – may have helped their chances this winter by acquiring the shortstop/third baseman’s brother-in-law, Yonder Alonso,  and his friend Jon Jay. But if money, not personal ties, ends up being the deciding factor in where Machado goes, signs are pointing to Philadelphia. After all, the White Sox’s only known offer to date was reportedly worth closer to $200MM than $300MM, and it may take a proposal nearer to the latter amount to lure Machado.

As with Machado, Harper has fewer franchises going after him than expected this offseason. Still, at least four teams – the Phillies, White Sox, Nationals and Dodgers – look to be in the running. It seems the Nationals, with whom Harper has spent his whole career since going first overall in the 2010 draft, are particularly strong in the derby. As of earlier this week, the Nats were reportedly upping their efforts to re-sign Harper, to whom they’ve already extended at least one offer worth well north of $300MM. Reports have indicated the Dodgers aren’t keen on making a long-term commitment, on the other hand, meaning Harper may have to choose among the Phillies, White Sox and Nationals if he has any hope of landing a record-setting contract.

Nationals Designate Matt Reynolds

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The Nationals have designated infielder Matt Reynolds for assignment, per Dan Kolko of MASN. His 40-man spot will go to just-signed second baseman Brian Dozier.

Reynolds joined the Nationals last February in a minor trade with the division-rival Mets, though he only went on to accrue 14 major league plate appearances in 2018. The 28-year-old spent most of the season at the Triple-A level, where he hit a solid .265/.355/.424 in 355 plate appearances. Overall, Reynolds owns a .283/.350/.420 line in 1,589 PAs at the highest level of the minors. But the 2012 second-round pick of the Mets has batted just .223/.295/.340 in 240 attempts in the majors.

Nationals Sign Brian Dozier

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JAN. 13: Dozier has passed his physical, making his one-year, $9MM deal official, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets.

JAN. 10: An aggressive offseason for the Nationals continued Thursday, as the team reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent second baseman Brian Dozier. The All Bases Covered Sports Management client will reportedly receive a $9MM guarantee.

Brian Dozier | Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Dozier, 31, was one of the game’s premier second basemen from 2014-17, hitting a combined .254/.338/.476 with 127 home runs, 137 doubles, 14 triples, 67 stolen bases and a Gold Glove Award all under his belt in that time. He suffered a bone bruise in his knee early in the 2018 campaign but played through the injury, which may have impacted him at the plate; in 632 PAs split between the Twins and Dodgers last season, Dozier hit just .215/.305/.391 — including an especially anemic .182/.300/.350 slash with the Dodgers following a July 31 trade.

Washington represents something of a perfect fit for Dozier — a contending club that can offer everyday at-bats given the wide-open nature of their current second base situation. Prior to the agreement with Dozier, light-hitting Wilmer Difo and veteran Howie Kendrick looked to be in line for the lion’s share of work at the position.

Now, with Dozier in the fold, they’ll presumably revert to reserve roles for a Nationals club that has been aggressive in addressing weaknesses this offseason. Additionally, the Nationals needn’t feel any pressure to rush top prospect and presumptive long-term second baseman Carter Kieboom to the Majors. At the same time, the one-year term of today’s agreement allows them to address the second-base need without placing a longer-term roadblock in Kieboom’s path to the big leagues. And Dozier, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to rebuild his stock after a down season in 2018 before returning to the open market next winter. From that vantage point, it’s very much a win-win scenario for both the organization and Dozier himself.

If he’s able to bounce back to his previous levels of production, or even something close to it, he’ll provide the Nationals with a substantial upgrade over their incumbent options and deepen a lineup that has also added both Kurt Suzuki (a former teammate of Dozier’s) and Yan Gomes as options behind the plate. Washington has also signed the market’s best starter, Patrick Corbin, in addition to picking up righty Anibal Sanchez and adding relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough in what has been an exceptionally active offseason. The Nats reportedly haven’t entirely ruled out a reunion with Bryce Harper, either, so there could yet be some significant moves in the offing.

The addition of Dozier at a $9MM rate brings the Nationals ever closer to the $206MM luxury tax threshold, though as Jason Martinez projects at Roster Resource, the Nats are still about $3.5MM shy of that mark. Obviously, bringing Harper back into the fray would mean completely shattering that mark, though ownership likely views Harper as an exception and will ultimately make a determination on whether it’s worth incurring that penalty in order to retain the franchise icon.

Dozier entered free agency as a classic candidate to take a one-year “pillow” contract in an effort to restore his damaged stock, and the fit with the Nationals has long seemed a good one (as MLBTR noted when predicting that Dozier would land with the Nats on a one-year, $10MM deal at the outset of free agency). Now, with the Nationals just narrowly shy of the luxury threshold, he looks to be perhaps the final significant piece of the puzzle in D.C., barring a late push from ownership to re-sign Harper. The Nats have enough wiggle room that they could potentially add a particularly affordable reliever or bench piece if there’s a desirable veteran lingering on the market into Spring Training, but the team certainly can’t be keen on breaching the luxury tax barrier in order to add a complimentary piece.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the two sides were close to a deal (via Twitter), and Jeff Passan of ESPN tweeted the agreement and terms of the contract.

Orioles Will Reportedly Hire Don Long As Hitting Coach

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Rookie Orioles manager Brandon Hyde’s staff is starting to come together. Hyde will hire Don Long to work as the Orioles’ hitting coach, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Additionally, the Orioles will tab Arnie Beyeler to coach first base, while Jose Flores – whom the O’s hired in December – is “expected” to serve as their third base coach and infield instructor, per Kubatko.

The 56-year-old Long will succeed Scott Coolbaugh, who was Baltimore’s hitting coach from 2015-18 and is now with the Dodgers organization. A former minor league infielder with the Giants, Long spent the past half-decade as the Reds’ hitting coach, but they replaced him with Turner Ward in November. For what it’s worth, the Reds’ Long-led offense ranked eighth in the majors in walk rate, 17th in wRC+ and 18th in runs in 2018.

In Baltimore, Long will be tasked with helping to improve an offense which wallowed toward the bottom of the league last year. However, considering the rebuilding Orioles are short on talent, it’s unlikely they expect Long’s presence to make a major statistical impact in 2019.

A’s Reportedly Expect Kyler Murray To Enter NFL Draft

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JAN. 13: Athletics executive vice president Billy Beane is among those meeting with Murray today in hopes of convincing him to choose baseball over football, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. General manager David Forst is also on hand, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who adds a decision isn’t expected to come Sunday.

JAN. 9: The Athletics are expecting Kyler Murray, the No. 9 overall pick in last year’s MLB draft but also the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for Oklahoma, to declare for the NFL draft this Sunday, Susan Slusser and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle report.

Entering the draft doesn’t necessarily mean that Murray will forgo his commitment to the Athletics, but Slusser and Schulman report that one source indicated to them that Murray is indeed leaning toward selecting football as his profession rather than baseball. Should Murray go that route rather than pursuing his career as an outfielder in the Athletics organization, the A’s would get his $4.66MM signing bonus back, but they wouldn’t receive a compensatory selection in the 2019 draft. That reality, as noted by Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill at the time (Twitter link), made the selection of Murray one of the riskier draft picks in recent memory.

While many onlookers note that Major League Baseball’s guaranteed salary structure should be more enticing to Murray (or any player), that’s somewhat of a presumptuous argument. At present, the only thing guaranteed to Murray in his baseball career is that $4.66MM bonus. That’s obviously a life-changing sum of money, but Murray’s next notable payday in baseball would be nowhere in sight. He’d need to play for next to nothing for at least two seasons in the minors as he worked his way toward the Majors, then spend at least his first three seasons making roughly the league minimum before even reaching arbitration — barring an early career extension (which the A’s haven’t handed out recently and which Murray’s agent, Scott Boras, typically avoids).

Even an optimistic and aggressive timeline for Murray reaching arbitration would put him at least a half-decade away from realizing his first significant post-draft payday in baseball, and it’s far from a guarantee that he’d ever be the type of player to command significant arbitration salaries or a significant multi-year contract in free agency.

Conversely, the No. 32 overall selection in last year’s NFL draft, Lamar Jackson, signed a four-year, $9,471,648 contract with the Ravens and quickly ascended to the starter’s role in Baltimore. Certainly, there are more than pure financial considerations at play, but assuming he’s a first-round selection in the NFL draft, Murray can look at Jackson’s near-$9.5MM guarantee as a rough baseline for what he’d be promised. (In reality, it’d be slightly higher, as draft bonuses in the NFL increase incrementally each year just as they do in baseball.) As for fans hoping to see this generation’s version of Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, the report from Slusser and Schulman flatly indicates that there’s “no possibility” of Murray playing both sports.

If Murray does ultimately choose the NFL over MLB, the Athletics would still retain his baseball rights in the event that he ever chose a change in career path (as was the case with the Rockies and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, though the Yankees now control Wilson’s rights following a 2017 trade). But, it’d be a discouraging blow for the A’s, who surely envisioned the sizable commitment they made to Murray as having a legitimate chance of persuading him to pursue a baseball career.

AL Notes: Yanks, Andujar, Rangers, Harrison, Solarte, Ottavino, Jays, Angels

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In the wake of the Yankees’ agreement with infielder DJ LeMahieu, their talks with free agent Manny Machado “are either dormant or completely dead,” ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required). Although Machado would greatly improve the Yankees’ infield, they haven’t been willing to approach his exorbitant asking price, and there’s no obvious free spot in their infield with LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki having come aboard this offseason. While the Yankees could trade third baseman Miguel Andujar to open up room for Machado, it seems they’re more inclined to bet on the former, as Olney details. Andujar excelled at the plate in 2018, his rookie year, but had a horrific time in the field. However, Andujar has consistently demonstrated a willingness to better his defense – including this winter – and the Yankees are confident his work will yield positive results in 2019. If not, Olney posits the Yankees could make a run at Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado should he reach free agency a year from now.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Rangers have continued to discuss a couple of free-agent infielders – Josh Harrison and Yangervis Solarte – and stayed in contact with free-agent right-hander Adam Ottavino, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Either Harrison or Solarte, the latter of whom has already been in the Texas organization, could help fill the void for the departed Adrian Beltre and Jurickson Profar at third base. Ottavino, meanwhile, would be the priciest of the three to reel in, as he lags behind only Craig Kimbrel when it comes to current free-agent relievers. Contending clubs may be more realistic fits for the 33-year-old Ottavino than the Rangers, who don’t figure to push for a playoff spot in 2019.
  • Free-agent reliever John Axford said Saturday that he hopes to rejoin the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. A native of Canada, Axford signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays last February and stuck in Toronto up until the club traded him to the Dodgers at the July 31 non-waiver deadline. All told, the 35-year-old right-hander pitched to an ugly 5.27 ERA in 54 2/3 innings. Much of the damage came in Axford’s 3 2/3 frames as a Dodger, though, and he did pair playable strikeout and walk numbers (8.89 K/9, 3.62 BB/9) with an appealing groundball rate (54.6 percent).
  • The Angels opted out of their ballpark lease in October, which could make the upcoming season the team’s last at Angel Stadium. But the Angels are “expected” to sign a one-year lease with the city of Anaheim to remain at the facility through at least the 2020 campaign, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Should that come to fruition, the two sides would then work toward a long-term solution to keep the Angels in Anaheim, Shaikin notes. The franchise has called Angel Stadium home since 1966.

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