Angels Have Price In Mind For Trout
According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (subscription), the Angels have a price in mind for superstar Mike Trout. The deal they’re considering is said to be at 10 years and around $350 Million dollars to keep arguably the greatest center fielder of all time under contract and away from the open market. Trout is set to be a free agent after the 2020 season, so the need for an extension is growing in importance.
Trout, 27, will be a free agent at age 29, and will easily be the best player to ever hit the open market. After seeing Bryce Harper sign in Philly last week, and hearing him allude to pairing with Trout, the Angels will need to lock up the former 2 time MVP. Trout is a career .307/.416/.573 hitter, which you can’t even do if you set a player in MLB The Show on 99 overall.
A’s “Not Giving Up” On Soon To Be NFL QB Murray
According to Rosenthal (subscription), the A’s are “not giving up hope” on a reunion with soon to be first round draft pick quarterback Kyler Murray from Oklahoma. Murray went ninth overall to the A’s in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft as a center fielder, and the A’s seemed fairly confident that Murray would pursue baseball over football. They figured they could keep him based on a lesser injury risk, more guaranteed money, and longer contracts.
Murray is widely expected to be one of the first two quarterbacks off the board come the NFL Draft in June, but concerns about his size are making teams a little hesitant to go all in on the best baseball/football crossover athlete since Neon Deon. If Murray fails in the NFL, it is fair to expect him to turn back to the A’s and return to the diamond. At only 21, there is still time for Murray to pivot to baseball and succeed with Oakland.
Holt Wants To Stay With Reigning Champs, Speaks On Market Issues
According to the Boston Herald, super utility man and world champion Brock Holt would like to remain in Boston and keep playing for the Red Sox. “’I would love to stay here for the rest of my career — I’m happy here, my family’s happy here, I love everything about being a Boston Red Sox,” said Holt, who turns 31 in June. “If it were my decision I would love to stay. We’ll see what happens. We’ve still got time.” Holt said, “If we can work something out here, that’d be great.” Holt is a career Red Sox, so his willingness to stay in Boston makes sense and is more than warranted.
Later on in the conversation, Holt talks about former teammate Craig Kimbrel‘s free agency and lack of offers. The Herald is quoted to “Holt said that when he got together with Kimbrel a month ago, he was stunned to learn that the free agent had yet to field an offer. ‘‘I can’t even say yes to anyone because I don’t have an offer,’’ is what Holt said Kimbrel told him back in Boston last month. And while Holt assumes Kimbrel has received an offer since then, he can’t be sure.”
Holt went on to say “‘I think for us players, it’s frustrating to see. The fact that we still have so many good players that haven’t signed is frustrating. If you’re a team, you want to put the best team on the field, and you’ve got guys like Craig Kimbrel out there who don’t have a job and you’re telling me you’re not going to be better with him on your team? So, it’s frustrating.'”
