Signing-deadline
deals have become almost a thing in the past in the baseball draft as
a result of measures taken to hasten signings in the latest
Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the
Players Association, but several key players still remain unsigned
with this year’s deadline just two days away.
Teams
have until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to get all players from this year’s
draft in the fold, and four first-round selections (including three
of the first 10 picks) are among those still holding out. Overall, 13
players in the first 10 rounds have not come to terms.
University
of San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant, selected second overall by
the Chicago Cubs, is among the holdouts. He has reportedly been
seeking a bonus in excess of the assigned value of $6,708,400 for the
second pick, although it is considered almost a certainly that Bryant
will find common ground with the Cubs and sign before the deadline.
“We’re
confident we’ll get it done,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told
cubs.com. “We’ll make it an exceptionally fair offer. If Kris
wants to be a Cub and be a professional baseball player, I’m
confident we’ll get a deal done. Sometimes it takes a deadline to
make a deal, and we have a deadline coming up shortly. In a lot of
ways, I think it’s a plus at this point.”
Other
first-rounders not in the fold with the deadline drawing near are
University of North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran, drafted sixth
overall by the Miami Marlins; California high-school righthander Phil
Bickford, selected 10th by the Toronto Blue Jays; and
Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge, chosen 32nd by the
New York Yankees.
All
are expected to sign for bonuses roughly equivalent to the assigned
values for their respective slots. Moran can expect to receive a
bonus of about $3,516,600—the recommended amount for the sixth
pick—while Bickford is in line for a bonus of $2,921,400 and Judge
$1,677,100.
Bryant,
Moran and Judge are all college selections, and most likely would
return to college for their senior seasons if they choose not to
sign, while Bickford, a high-school selection, has committed to
attend college at Cal State Fullerton.
A
team that fails to sign its first-round pick (or any pick in the
first three rounds, for that matter) receives a corresponding
selection in the following year’s draft.
The
Marlins are almost certain to receive at least one bonus selection in
2014 for supplemental first-rounder Matt Krook, a California prep
lefthander selected 35th overall who failed his physical
in late June, stemming from a sore left shoulder, and subsequently
rejected a reduced bonus offer from the Marlins. Krook has indicated
he will attend the University of Oregon rather than sign with the
Marlins.
The
Marlins also have not signed their third-round pick, Florida prep
shortstop Ben Deluzio, who plans to attend Florida State if he
doesn’t sign by Friday.
A
year ago, Appel was one of only eight players in the first 10 rounds
to go unsigned—a draft record. In 2011, 27 players in the top 10
rounds went unsigned, and the dramatic decrease in the number of
unsigned picks was attributed to the new CBA, which placed a premium
on teams drafting players in the early rounds that were signable and
players signing well in advance of the deadline.
While
a handful of unsigned players, including all the first-rounders, are
still expected to sign just before Friday’s deadline, most
big-league teams have all players they drafted and plan to sign
already in the fold.
The
Chicago White Sox have signed their first 32 selections, the Seattle
Mariners their initial 31 picks and St. Louis Cardinals their top 28.
The
Los Angeles Angels, meanwhile, forfeited their
first-round pick in this year’s draft but have nearly run the table
by signing all of their picks except for Texas prep righthander Blake
Goins, a 12th-rounder
headed for the University of Texas.
Should
the Angels get Goins in the fold, they would become the only team in
draft history (June, regular phase) to sign all their draft picks.
Previously, the only other team to sign all but one of its selections
was the 1985 Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed 33 of 34 picks—the
exception being their fourth-rounder, Illinois State outfielder Mike
Prior, who opted for a career as a wide receiver in the National
Football League.
UNSIGNED
PICKS, TOP 10 ROUNDS
ROUND
ONE
Cubs
(2). Kris Bryant, 3b, University of San Diego
Marlins
(6). Colin Moran, 3b, University of North Carolina.
Blue
Jays (10). Phil Bickford, Oaks Christian HS/California (Cal State
Fullerton recruit)
Yankees
(32). Aaron Judge, of, Fresno State University
SUPPLEMENTAL
FIRST ROUND
Marlins
(37). Matt Krook, lhp, St. Ignatius College Prep/California (Oregon
recruit)
ROUND
THREE
Marlins.
Ben Deluzio, ss, The First Academy/Florida (Florida State recruit)
ROUND
FOUR
Red
Sox. Myles Smith, rhp, Lee (Tenn.) University.
ROUND
FIVE
Phillies.
Ben Wetzler, lhp, Oregon State University.
ROUND
SIX
Phillies.
Jason Monda, of, Washington State University.
Rays.
Stephen Woods, Half Hollow East HS/New York (Albany recruit).
Giants.
Nick Vander Tuig, rhp, UCLA.
ROUND
EIGHT
Twins.
Dustin DeMuth, 3b, Indiana University.
ROUND
TEN
Indians.
Ross Kivett, 2b, Kansas State.