Redlands East Valley pitcher Griffin Murphy, the 61st pick in this week’s Major League Baseball draft, has agreed in principle to a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. The second-round pick said that he agreed to a signing bonus worth $800,000, which is the value that he was looking for prior to the draft.

“I’m really excited right now,” said Murphy, who will forgo a scholarship to the University of San Diego to sign. “This is a dream come true and I can’t believe that I’m about to play professional baseball. They came up from the number that the pick was slotted to get and met the number we wanted.”

Murphy indicated that the bonus number slotted for the 61st pick was $600,000. There is plenty to be done before he joins the Blue Jays’ organization though. The paperwork for signing the contract will be delayed some due to exchange rate and other issues that come from the Blue Jays’ location in Canada.

“I probably won’t start with the organization until early July,” Murphy said. “I just can’t wait to go and play ball.”

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