The first week of 2014 has wrapped up, but the rumor mill is still churning out some excitement. The great thing about rumors, especially in the world of Major League Baseball, is that they may not be true to start out with; however, if one builds up enough support that rumor could become a reality.
Teams are always looking to one-up one another, even if it means that is will cost a fortune to make sure that the goods stay out of the hands of the closest competitors. This first rumor is one of those instances.
Masahiro Tanaka to the Oakland Athletics?
This sounds bogus, but so did the idea of the Athletics winning the American League West Division in 2012, and then again in 2013. As the word around the campfire goes, a “Major League executive” told Bill Madden of The New York Daily News to “watch out for Oakland” as the team to possibly land the right-hander from Japan. Right there it sounds like a huge reach or even just a rouse to get Madden off of their back; however, what the executive continues to say actually makes a lot of sense,
“They’ve got as much money as any team and they like doing these big international things, as with their signing of [Yoenis] Cespedes and the fact they were second to the Cincinnati Reds for Aroldis Chapman five years ago.” As inspiring as that all sounds, there is one important person that executive forgot about, Hiroyuki Nakajima.
Not only did Nakajima not spend a day at the Major League level, but he was also scratched from the 40-man roster around the middle of August due to injuries and poor performance. Even though he wasn’t the first Japanese player to don the green and gold, he was certainly the most expensive: $6.5 million over two years.
Even though Nakajima and Tanaka play different positions, the worry point for the Athletics has to fall on the fact that the two obviously came from the same league (Nippon Professional Baseball), but more importantly that Nakajima was one of he best at his position: .302 career average along with three Gold Gloves and eight All-Star Game appearances. But then again, the Athletics love pitchers.
Jameis Winston wants to be the next Bo Jackson
This one isn’t a rumor; it’s actually straight out of the horse’s mouth. Before receiving the Heisman Trophy in New York City back in December, the Florida State freshman quarterback told reports, “I want to be better than Bo Jackson.” Strong words.
Winston is already off to a great start of achieving this goal with the Heisman leg of the competition out of the way as Jackson was the winner in 1985 as the running back for Auburn University.
Kind of an interesting path as Winston had to go up against Jackson’s alma mater in the BCS Championship Game. But the one thing that many people forget about with Winston is that he is a decent baseball player, so much that the Texas Rangers had drafted him the 15th round of the amateur draft back in 2012.
Even though Winston decided to go to school instead, the Rangers have kept close tabs on him. As an outfielder and closer Winston hit .235 with a .723 OPS in 119 at-bats and had two saves and a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings with a team that reached the super-regional.
His numbers aren’t exactly staggering, but he obviously has the ability and could be molded into a superstar. Really the only “downside” is that Winston is he’s a quarterback. This isn’t a knock, but being the leader of a team and taking a beating while still playing the final month-and-a-half of baseball games when the two sports seasons overlap won’t exactly be a walk in the park. Then again, Jackson was a running back and took a greater beating as a member of the then-Los Angeles Raiders.
As it stands, Winston will be eligible for the MLB draft again in 2015, and the Rangers have no qualms with potentially picking up Winston again and allowing him to live out his dream. The Rangers selecting Russell Wilson is clear proof of that. The only thing really standing in the way of Winston, besides a horrific injury, is a National Football League owner and General Manager nipping the two-sport idea in butt on draft day.
The return of Tony Plush!
After spending 2013 in Japan, Nyjer Morgan has switched agents and is making a bid to return to the Majors. In case you forgot, Morgan last played in 2012 with the Milwaukee Brewers where he hit a career-low .239 in 122 games.
After turning down an assignment to play at AAA with the Nashville Sounds, Morgan was given his release and signed with the Yokohama DeNA Bay Bears where he hit .294 along with 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 108 games. Even though it’s a different talent pool and way less games, Morgan’s homers and RBI crushed those of his season bests at the Major League level.
Apparently there are at least six teams interested in adding the 33-year-old outfielder to their team; however, there is still the concern that the Morgan of the old days will spring back to life. The old Morgan of course is the controversial figure who has never been afraid to speak his mind, fight with opponents and jeer fans.
While it’s understandable for team to be worried about their players’ actions, they should really be more concerned with how hard they play and whether they’re a benefit to the team, which in most ways Morgan definitely has been.