Two-Sport Signings, Loving on Javy Because Why Not, Old Friend Hagerty, and Other Bullets

I don’t even care if it makes me petty as hell – I smiled when that pass went through Alshon Jeffery’s hands. I’m not sorry.

  • Major League Baseball is apparently prepared to allow the Oakland A’s to sign Kyler Murray to a big league deal in order to entice him not to play football. In recent years, signing draftees to big league deals – and thus avoiding the bonus pool – has been prohibited, unlike back when the Cubs signed guys like Jeff Samardzija and Matt Szczur. But in Murray’s case, since a big league deal was not contemplated at the time he originally signed last summer for a typical bonus, it’s OK:
  • Obviously MLB should want every talented athlete in the world to pick their sport over other sports, so this is the right outcome. But it does remind you that the bonus pool system, for as much as it might help parity, can be a problem for the sport in a number of other ways. (Too bad Murray can’t realistically play both sports – no NFL team would ever, ever allow their franchise QB to play baseball – because that would be really fun and exciting for baseball. Which, I suppose, is kind of telling.)
  • There are rumors that Murray wants $15 million to sign with the A’s and forgo the NFL Draft, though, and it’s hard for me to see the A’s going that far for a raw prospect who is already 21. Sure, that’s a pretty small expense if the guy becomes a solid contributor, but the odds are generally against that for most prospects.
  • I have no real reason for sharing this moment, other than the fact that it popped into my head and I wanted to make an art-y looking version of the picture using a filter. So, enjoy the time Javy Baez beat the Giants in the NLDS:
  • (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

  • This is fun stuff right here:
  • My favorite is probably this one: “Fourteen players stole home in 2018.  One stole home twice. Javier Báez (of course) – June 3 & July 4.”
  • Anyone remember Luke Hagerty? You’d have to be a serious prospect hipster to remember, but he was one of the Cubs’ first round picks back in 2002, and injuries and ineffectiveness immediately took him off the prospect radar. He was out of organized ball by 2006, and hasn’t even appeared in Independent Ball in a decade. And yet:
  • There might be absolutely nothing there at this point beyond a dude who can chuck it really, really hard. But given his extreme story, and the fact that he was originally a Cubs prospect … wouldn’t he be a great guy to bring into minor league camp? Give him a shot based on the velocity, but also allow his story to be told to your prospects. The Cubs reportedly did have rep(s) there at the Driveline Pro Day doing some scouting. You never know.
  • Office furniture, under-desk working gear, and more are your deals of the day at Amazon today.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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