A’s best interests: Murray gets a long leash
If Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray attends the NFL combine, as a report Thursday suggested, where does that leave his future with the Oakland Athletics?
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Murray — the A’s top pick in last year’s Major League Baseball draft — will head to Indianapolis on Feb. 26-March 4 to run through pre-draft workouts and testing at the NFL combine.
But Murray, 21, is expected to report to the A’s spring-training camp in Mesa, Ariz., by Feb. 15 as a non-roster invitee. Should he fail to report or leave camp without permission, Oakland could place him on the restricted list and require Murray to repay his $4.66 million bonus.
Most industry observers believe if Murray reported to the A’s camp and then left, that would be a breaking point as far as Oakland is concerned. But while there is no precedent for a player leaving spring training, attending workouts in a different sport and then returning to his major league team, the A’s would be within their rights to allow him to do so and one former major league executive said Thursday that’s precisely the way he’d go.
“They’re in a tough spot,” the former executive said. “If the A’s say, ‘You can’t go,’ he might say, ‘Screw you, I’m going.’ If it’s me, I give him the OK to go. I say, ‘We care about this kid’s future, and we want him to do what’s best for him.’
“It might be good for him, it might be an eye-opener for him, once he sees the size and strength of the other guys in the draft. I’m sure everyone is talking to him about the CTE thing.”
Another industry insider agreed, saying, “If I were the A’s, I’d take him for any scenario.”
As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last month, the A’s have discussed adding Murray, an outfielder selected with the ninth overall pick last June, to their 40man roster. That would allow them to rework his contract and pay him closer to what a late firstround NFL pick might make.
The A’s don’t have a ton of leverage besides repayment of the signing bonus: They will not even receive a compensation pick in this June’s draft should they lose Murray to football, but they will retain his baseball rights. So remaining on his good side is probably in their best interests should football not work out.
“It’s ultimately going to be a tough call for Murray,” the industry insider said. “The timing isn’t in Oakland’s favor, but it can be managed if the two sides want it to be.”
The ex-executive doesn’t fault Murray for wanting to assess his NFL draft stock. He’s 5-10 and small for an NFL quarterback, and there is no consensus about where he’d be selected, with projections suggesting anywhere from the first to third rounds.
“It’s smart for him to do that; he’s keeping all his options open, getting an eye where he fits in in the draft,” the executive said. “He will get feedback right away.
“What he does after that will tell the tale. Football consumes your life, especially at that position, and baseball is such a skill sport — you can’t come in and play it for just four months. He’s going to have to choose.
“If he doesn’t come back to baseball, he’s out of his mind. But he wants to find out where he might be drafted and that makes sense, if they give him permission. But if I were him, I’d want to remember my name when I’m 45.”