The Toronto Blue Jays will sign two-sport star Anthony Alford to a pro contract that will allow him to play quarterback this fall at Southern Mississippi, Baseball America reported Friday.
Toronto selected the 17-year-old high-school outfielder in the third round (112th overall) of this week’s MLB Draft despite Alford warning teams not to pick him because he was determined to play football this fall.
Citing two sources, Baseball America’s Jim Callis reported Friday that Alford will sign a contract with the Blue Jays that will allow him to play football for the Golden Eagles.
More details on the #BlueJays & Anthony Alford: ht.ly/bshI2. I thought he’d unsignable. A coup for the Jays. #mlbdraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) June 8, 2012
NCAA regulations allow players to sign pro contracts in one sport while maintaining their eligibility in another.
Callis also suggests Alford’s signing bonus may be close to double the $424,000 MLB has assigned to the No. 122 pick.
Last summer, the Blue Jays reached an agreement with undrafted free agent outfielder Luke Wilson that allowed him to continue playing football at Rice University.
On Wednesday, Blue Jays director of amateur scouting Andrew Tinnish didn’t rule out going down that road with Alford.
“I think that could be possible,” he explained. “This is a little unique because of where we took him in the draft. Luke was a post-draft sign. It’s too early in the process to say, yes or no to that, so I’d probably just have to say ‘maybe.”
He also said Toronto planned on making a strong push to sign him.
“Anthony is an extremely athletic centre-fielder,” he said. “Obviously he’s a very good athlete and a very good kid, with a very short and quick compact swing. He’s probably a seven runner on our 2-8 scale. He’s very explosive. He’s a guy that we’d love to have as part of our organization.
“It’s something that we’re going to work hard to do but at this point, we’re just starting the process of communicating with him and his family.”
Tinnish added Alford has the chance to be an everyday player in the big leagues, but refused to bite when asked whether Alford might be a better football player at this stage.
“I think he’s an extremely good baseball player,” aid Tinnish. “As far as if he’s better at football, I’m not really qualified to make a comment. Certainly he must be pretty good if he’s got a scholarship at a Division I school at quarterback.”
More on Alford from our Meet the Draftees Feature:
Birthdate: 07/20/94 | Position: OF
Height/Weight: 6’1″ 205 lbs | Bonus slot: $424,400
School: Petal (HS) | Twitter: N/A
The Skinny: Has told teams he won’t sign as he intends to pursue football at Southern Miss… Named top baseball player in Mississippi for first time in 2012. Has won the award for football the past three seasons… Ranked No. 36 by Baseball America… Told MLB.com Tuesday, he’ll listen to the Blue Jays offer: “I didn’t think they were going to take me that early. I was excited, but I’m not going to make any quick decisions. I’m going to think about it for a while.”
