Manfred backs A’s preferred park site
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Commissioner Rob Manfred remains solidly behind the A’s efforts to build a stadium, even in the wake of a recent Chronicle report about hazardous chemicals and the need for costly cleanup at the team’s preferred Howard Terminal site.
“I am aware of some of the issues that have been raised with respect to the site,” Manfred said in response to a question from The Chronicle during a news conference at Glendale Civic Center on Tuesday. “I’m optimistic that we’re going to find a way that the A’s and government officials in Oakland will find a way to work through those issues to everyone’s satisfaction.
“I give (owner) John Fisher and (president) Dave Kaval really high marks for the level of effort, creativity and commitment they have put into the project in terms of trying to find a site in Oakland that’s workable. They deserve a ton
of credit.”
Manfred also indicated Major League Baseball continues to believe the A’s should remain in the Bay Area, despite the long process of trying to land a new stadium.
“I think it’s important for us to stay in Oakland,” he said. “Most fundamentally because of our commitment to communities. But, you know, Oakland is a major-league market. We should have a club there.”
Manfred was keeping tabs on the A’s efforts to sway top draft pick Kyler Murray toward a baseball career before the Heisman Trophy winner announced that he is committing himself full-time to the NFL.
“The two-sport athlete is always a challenging decision for an individual club,” he said. “I give the A’s a lot of credit — it’s high risk and can be high return as well. I was talking to another general manager this morning and Kyler Murray’s decision, because he was the Heisman Trophy winner, got a lot of attention — ‘Baseball lost an athlete.’ But in general, if you look at high school athletes who are baseball, basketball, football, we are getting more and more of those top athletes.”
Manfred did not address a question about whether the loophole that prevents teams that draft two-sport athletes from receiving a compensation pick if, after signing with the team, the athlete decides to play his other sport. The A’s will not get an extra pick in this year’s draft after Murray, the ninth overall selection, chose to concentrate on football, but the team does retain his baseball rights. Soria slowed: Joakim Soria, the primary addition to Oakland’s bullpen this offseason, will take a break from throwing off the mound because of right hip tendinitis. “It will probably be a couple-day thing,” manager Bob Melvin said at the team’s minor-league Fitch Park complex. “We’ll see how he feels after he plays catch.”
Soria signed a two-year, $15 million deal with Oakland this winter and the right-hander is expected to be one of the team’s primary setup men. Briefly: Brentwood native Paul Blackburn will start the A’s Cactus League opener Thursday, weather permitting. Blackburn is among the contenders for the fourth- or fifthstarter job . ... Melvin said that lefty Wei-Chung Wang, who has been slowed by a minor groin injury, was scheduled for a flat-ground session Tuesday, and lefty Tyler Alexander will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, his first since signing with the A’s last week . ... The A’s announced that former Oakland center fielder Coco Crisp will provide analysis on 33 of the team’s radio broadcasts this season.