Athletics manager Mark Kotsay informed Murdock on Monday that he's made the Opening Day roster, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
A Rule 5 selection from the Royals over the winter, Murdock earned a spot on the 26-man roster by allowing just three runs with a 7:5 K:BB over 7.2 Cactus League innings. The tall right-hander should operate in low-leverage relief situations for the Athletics initially.
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Athletics' Noah Murdock: Likely to win roster spot
Rotowire
Murdock looks set to win a spot in the Athletics' Opening Day bullpen, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. He threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Reds and has a 4.05 ERA with a 6:4 K:BB in 6.2 innings this spring.
Murdock was a Rule 5 pick in December, so he'll need to stay on the major-league roster all season for the A's to retain his rights. He has logged groundball rates over 55 percent at his three most recent stops thanks to a quality sinker and posted a 3.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 46:26 K:BB and 62.1 percent groundball rate in 38.1 innings at Triple-A last season. Murdock should work in low-leverage situations initially but could have some upside as a middle reliever.
The Athletics selected Murdock with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 draft Wednesday, JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports.
A 26-year-old righty reliever from the Royals organization, Murdock has logged groundball rates over 55 percent at his three most recent stops thanks to a quality sinker. He posted a 3.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 46:26 K:BB and 62.1 percent groundball rate in 38.1 innings at Triple-A last season. Murdock should work in low-leverage situations as a rookie and will need to remain in the big leagues all season, otherwise the A's would need to return him to the Royals.
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