The Oakland Athletics added depth to their outfield mix by signing outfielder Robbie Grossman to a $2 million, one-year contract Friday. Nick Martini, Stephen Piscotty, and Ramon Laureano are projected to get the majority of playing time in the A's outfield. Oakland manager Bob Melvin said the club would be looking at Grossman as an option in left field.

Kyler Murray was a first-round pick in the MLB Draft last year, but that apparently does not matter much. MLB did see some movement, but not in the way you would think, while Murray has decided he wants to play football. And the Boston Bruins sustained yet another key injury to their roster.

Jerry Blevins didn't know many of his new Oakland Athletics teammates yet the left-handed reliever said he has felt right at home returning to the team with which he broke into the big leagues back in 2007. The 35-year-old Blevins rejoined Oakland when he signed a minor league contract earlier this month. The A's have a talented bullpen but right now Ryan Buchter is the only left-handed option currently on the 40-man roster.

Kyler Murray's decision to pursue an NFL career over one in professional baseball did not come as much of a surprise to Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. Murray announced on social media on Monday - four days before he was scheduled to report to spring training with the Oakland Athletics - that he is fully committed to becoming an NFL quarterback and has started an extensive program to prepare himself for upcoming NFL workouts and interviews. And Riley, whose guidance helped Murray lead the Sooners to the College Football Playoff semi-finals, believes the decision was the right one.

Kyler Murray chose football over baseball, committing himself to the NFL draft. It was a move that, however sensible from Murray's point of view, has led to a lot of soul-searching among baseball folks and has raised questions about what the sport offers young, talented athletes with other options. It's not that bleak, however!

Left-hander Brett Anderson is back with the Oakland Athletics for a third stint 10 years after breaking into the big leagues with the club. Anderson went 4-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 17 starts and 80 1/3 innings last season for the A's. The 31-year-old spent the 2009-13 seasons with Oakland before being traded to the Rockies in December 2013.

With spring training upon us, the oddsmakers are already buzzing with baseball's biggest question: Who will win the World Series in 2019? BetOnline, an online sportsbook, has the New York Yankees (6/1) as the odds-on-favorite to win the World Series with the Boston Red Sox (7/1) and Houston Astros (7/1) right behind them. The Los Angeles Dodgers (9/1) and Philadelphia Phillies (10/1) rounding out the top 5.

Josh Rosen is Kliff Kingsbury's quarterback as the Arizona Cardinals head coach distanced himself from NFL draft prospect Kyler Murray. After the Cardinals' new coach took the job with Arizona and his team earned the number one pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, people started to wonder if Kingsbury would select quarterback Murray. Kingsbury dispelled that notion Tuesday, telling the Cardinals' website: "Josh [Rosen] is our guy."

Deion Sanders played pro football and baseball, and ''Prime Time'' has a special place in his heart for athletes who excel at a high level in both sports. He wishes more young men had the same opportunities as Murray, but laments that youth sports coaches often encourage kids to pick one main sport at an early age. You've got some idiot in a youth league telling a kid, 'If you just focus on this one thing, you're going to be great,''' Sanders said.

Kyler Murray chose football. When you look at it that way, Murray's decision makes a lot of sense. On the football end of things, there will be many more questions in the coming months about what Murray can do in the NFL and where he'll go in April's NFL draft, but on the baseball side of things, there are different types of questions.

The Oakland A's knew that Kyler Murray could choose to play football. The A's didn't expect the decision to come so quickly. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the A's were “caught .

The Oakland Athletics added depth at catcher on Monday, agreeing to a minor league contract with Nick Hundley. ''He's a well-respected veteran coming off a really good year,'' Oakland executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said. Jonathan Lucroy left as a free agent for the Los Angeles Angels, and Chris Herrmann and Josh Phegley are the only catchers on Oakland's 40-man roster.

Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray says he will pursue a career in the NFL over playing baseball for the Oakland Athletics.

The Oakland Athletics have signed catcher Nick Hundley to a minor league contract with an invite to major league camp. Hundley has spent the past two seasons across the Bay with the Giants. Last season he batted .241/.298/.408 with 10 homers over 96 games with the Giants.

Like every other pitcher in the Oakland Athletics' deep bullpen, Liam Hendriks is expecting to pitch a lot this season. The tricky question for manager Bob Melvin going into spring training: Who gets to go first? The Athletics rotation is a major uncertainty heading into camp, with the first workout for pitchers and catchers set for Monday.

The Cleveland Indians signed free agent outfielder Matt Joyce and reliever Alex Wilson to minor league contracts. The deals include invites to spring training camp, where the defending AL Central champions must address two glaring issues - outfield depth and their bullpen. Joyce and Wilson agreed to their deals on Friday, pending medical exams which were completed Saturday.

The Texas Rangers have decided no player will ever wear No. again. The team will retire Adrian Beltre's number during the 2019 season.

The Super Bowl is over, Tom Brady has another ring and your sports calendar should have turned over a new page — it's baseball season, folks. Even though the two biggest free agents this offseason — Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — are still set on the open market, the spring training machine won't be stopped. Pitchers and catchers report next week, with the full squads coming in a few days later.

Oakland Athletics closer Blake Treinen will receive a $6.4 million salary for 2019 after winning his arbitration case. Treinen's case was heard Friday. He asked arbitrators Steven Wolf, Allen Ponak and Phillip LaPorte for a raise from $2.2 million to $6.4 million, while Oakland offered $5.6 million.

A's reveal Wild Elephant spring training hat, honor 1920s teams originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com Even though some of the biggest names in the game are still on the open market, it's almost baseball season now that it's officially February. And with that, comes spring training hats and jersey. Two weeks away from baseball in the desert, the A's revealed their new lids.