Murray Declares for NFL Draft
Athletics first-rounder Kyler Murray announced Monday that he has officially declared for the NFL Draft, but that doesn't necessarily shut the door on Murray playing baseball. The Athletics reportedly could entice the Heisman Trophy winner into choosing baseball by giving him a lucrative MLB contract, although the smart money remains on him ultimately picking football. Murray is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, if so he would be the first player ever chosen in both the first round of the MLB draft and the NFL draft. The Athletics took him with the ninth overall pick of last year's draft and would not get any draft compensation if he decides to give up baseball for football. If Murray doesn't announce his intentions before the NFL draft it could harm his chances of being selected early because teams would not want to risk a precious early pick on a player who might not play for them. For this reason we should hear a final statement explaining his plans in the coming weeks.
It is not out of the question that he could play both sports. Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy while at Auburn University in 1985. He played for the Royals and the Los Angeles Raiders for several years. He would play the full baseball season and then report to the Raiders about halfway through their schedule. Jackson continued that arrangement until he suffered a hip injury in an NFL game that ended his football career, although he continued to play baseball for a few more years after that. He is the only player to play in both an MLB All Star game and an NFL Pro Bowl game. Deion Sanders played both baseball and football as well. He is the only player to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Sanders generally played baseball until the NFL season started, then left for the gridiron -- but he would come back for the baseball playoffs if his team made it there. More recently, outfielder Brian Jordan was a first round pick by the Cardinals in 1988 and while he was working his way through the minor leagues he moonlighted as a safety for the Atlanta Falcons. When he reached the major leagues he gave up football. Maybe Kyler Murray could do something similar. The A's will retain his rights as a baseball player if he opts for the NFL. Now he has to give back the money.
Phillies Dreaming
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Phillies "have visions" of signing outfielder Bryce Harper, starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, and closer Craig Kimbrel. They must have a ton of cash saved up. Harper will cost at least $300 million, Keuchel is estimated to get a four-year $70-80 million contract and Kimbrel is looking for a deal in the $80 million range for five years. That is close to half a billion dollars for three players. They are also in the running to sign megastar Manny Machado, although the Phillies feel like they have a better shot to snare Harper after their weekend meeting in Las Vegas went so well.
Kluber rumor mill still going strong
Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that the Indians, Padres and Reds have discussed a three-team trade that would send Corey Kluber to Cincinnati. The Padres would want to acquire third base prospect Nick Senzel from the Reds in the trade, but Lin cautions that Cincy "does not want to move" the top prospect and "no deal is close" at this time. San Diego is on the lookout for a third baseman and it appears this is just one of the scenarios they've kicked around. Lin doesn't mention what the Padres would send to the Indians in that leg of the three-way deal. The Padres have been connected to Kluber a few times this offseason, but Lin says it would be to flip him to another team. Previous reports indicated the Padres were not willing to trade their top five prospects (SS Fernando Tatis Jr., LHP Mackenzie Gore, C Francisco Mejia, 2B Luis Urias and RHP Chris Paddack). Even if that is true the Padres still have a lot of good trade chips in their loaded farm system, including pitchers Adrian Morejon, Michel Baez, Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill and Anderson Espinoza along with hitters like Buddy Reed, Josh Naylor and Tirso Ornelas.
Previously-announced Deals Now Official
Brewers signed C Yasmani Grandal to a one-year, $16 million contract with a $16 million mutual option for 2020. Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports says the buyout of the option is $2.25 million, so Grandal is guaranteed at least $18.25 million. It is not much different than the one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer he rejected from the Dodgers. Grandal is moving to a better environment for hitters and may be able to improve upon his .241/.349/.466 slash line with 24 homers and 68 RBI from a year ago.
Mets signed INF Jed Lowrie to a two-year, $20 million contract. The deal was finalized Tuesday evening after Lowrie passed the necessary pre-signing physical. The versatile veteran is expected to play all around the infield for the Mets and he should regularly hit near the very top of their lineup. Lowrie, 34, posted a cool .801 OPS with 23 home runs and 99 RBI over 157 games last season with the Athletics. The home runs and RBI were both career highs by very wide margins.
Yankees signed 2B DJ LeMahieu to a two-year, $24 million contract. LeMahieu is expected to play all over the infield for the Yankees, although given Troy Tulowitzki's injury history there's a good chance Gleyber Torres will wind up sliding over to shortstop and LeMahieu will settle in at his customary second base (at least until Didi Gregorius returns). LeMahieu has huge home/away splits in his career and most observers are expecting his stats to experience a drop-off now that he won't be playing half his games in Coors Field. That being said, Yankee Stadium is a good place for him to land. He will still be playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark and he will be in a loaded, high-scoring lineup that will provide him with more RBI and run-scoring opportunities than he had in Colorado last year.
Twins signed RHP Blake Parker to a one-year, $1.8 million contract. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the deal could max out at $3.2 million if he's on the active roster for 160 days. He remains under team control for 2020. Parker was non-tendered by the Angels at the end of November after posting a 3.26 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 70/19 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings in 2018. He has closing experience and should take over a late-inning role with his new club.
Around the League
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Rangers remain in contact with free agent relievers Cody Allen and Adam Ottavino. In a later tweet, Rosenthal also mentions Adam Warren as a potential target. If Allen or Ottavino did come to Texas, they could win the closing job over incumbent Jose Leclerc even though Leclerc put up better numbers in 2018 than either of them did. Leclerc had a 1.56 ERA with 12 saves and 85 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings. He allowed just one home run last year and has given up only five dongs in 118 1/3 career innings. Allen saved 27 games last year but his ERA skyrocketed to 4.70 in 70 games. He does have a ton of closing experience, having saved 149 games in the last five years. The veteran Ottavino had a 2.43 ERA with six saves and 112 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings with the Rockies last year.
Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that things have begun to "ramp up" in Sonny Gray trade talks. Heyman hears that six teams are believed to be involved in talks, including the Reds. Some other teams connected to Gray include the Braves, Padres, Brewers, Athletics, and Mariners. Gray is coming off a disappointing 4.90 ERA over 23 starts last season. The Yankees and Gray recently avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $7.5 million contract for 2019, but it would be a surprise if he sticks around.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports that Manny Machado's offer from the White Sox remains at seven years. There's some contrasting information out there at the moment, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today backs up Levine's report of seven years. However, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reported late Sunday that Chicago offered eight years to Machado, with Z101Digital’s Hector Gomez adding that it's worth $250 million. Either way, Machado remains a free agent and surely wants something closer to 10 years and $300 million. The Phillies are believed to be the other top contender for Machado's services, although Bryce Harper is their first choice. The Yankees' interest in Machado is believed to have lessened after they signed DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki in recent days.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Giants have re-signed Derek Holland to a one-year, $7 million deal with a club option for 2020. Holland will receive a $6.5 million base salary in 2019 while the $6.5 million club option for 2020 carries a $500,000. His base salary for 2020 could increase depending on the number of starts he makes in 2019. This includes $7 million for 24 starts, $7.5 million for 28 starts, and $8.5 million for 32 starts. All in all, it's a nice value for the 32-year-old Holland, who surprised with a 3.57 ERA and 169/67 K/BB ratio in 171 1/3 innings this past season. One year prior in 2017 he went 7-14 with a heinous 6.20 ERA in 29 games (26 starts) for the White Sox.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Rays are "closing in" on Avisail Garcia. It'll be a one-year, $3.5 million deal, with Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports adding that the pact could be worth as much as $6 million if Garcia hits his incentives. Garcia was non-tendered by the White Sox earlier this offseason, as they weren't keen on giving him a raise in his final year of arbitration eligibility. In Tampa, the 27-year-old figures to be in the mix for playing time in right field and also in the designated hitter spot. Garcia posted a .885 OPS in 2017, but he fell off to a .719 OPS in 2018 and was limited to just 93 games because of injury. Much of his 2017 success can be pinned on a lucky .392 BABIP that fell to a slightly unlucky .271 in 2018.
Leonys Martin (illness) told Mandy Bell of MLB.com that he now feels 100 percent. Martin fought a life-threatening bacterial infection last August, but he was cleared for full baseball activities back in November and should have no restrictions going into spring training. The 30-year-old projects to begin 2019 as the starting center fielder with Cleveland. He batted .255/.323/.425 with 11 homers, 33 RBI and seven steals in 84 games for the Tigers and Indians. He has lived on the fringes of fantasy usefulness throughout his career, with stolen bases being by far his best fantasy category.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Curtis Granderson fully intends to continue his playing career in 2019. Granderson turns 38 in March and batted .241/.351/.431 with 13 home runs over 403 plate appearances between the Blue Jays and Brewers in 2018. He is sixth among all active players with 332 career home runs behind Albert Pujols (633), Miguel Cabrera (465), Edwin Encarnacion (380), Nelson Cruz (360) and Jose Bautista (344).
Quick Hits: Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski is holding a showcase for MLB teams on Tuesday. Rzepczynski was brutal in 2018, posting a 6.97 ERA and 2.52 ERA over 23 appearances between the Mariners and Indians. ... Phillies signed OF Lane Adams to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 29-year-old has hit .269/.340/.478 over 151 plate appearances with the Braves between 2017-2018. ... Red Sox signed LHP Daniel Schlereth to a minor league contract. ... Yankees designated INF/OF Tim Locastro for assignment... According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Pacific League have purchased the contract of right-hander Tyler Eppler from the Pirates. ... Rangers claimed OF John Andreoli off waivers from the Mariners. The 28-year-old hit .230/.284/.262 over 67 plate appearances at the major league level in 2018. ... Angels designated RHP Parker Bridwell for assignment. ... Diamondbacks signed LHP Tyler Matzek to a minor league contract. ... Angels acquired RHP John Curtiss from the Twins for INF Daniel Ozoria. Curtiss, 25, holds a 7.20 ERA in 17 career appearances at the MLB level. Ozoria, 18, batted .195/.248/.220 with zero home runs in 216 plate appearances last year between two different rookie-level affiliates of the Angels.
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