Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2016 Amateur Draft

Quick Hits: Draft, Vazquez, Thames, Dodgers

By | at

We’re a bit less than two months away from the 2016 amateur draft, and there figures to be quite a bit of chatter regarding the top high school and college talent in the nation over the coming months. Today, Keith Law and Eric Longenhagen of ESPN.com released their Top 50 draft prospects (subscription required and recommended), adding another excellent resource to stand alongside previously released rankings from Baseball America and from MLB.com. For those interested, MLBTR will run the first installment of its Draft Prospect Q&A series tomorrow afternoon, starting with one of the top bats of the class.

A few more notes from around the game as Tuesday night winds to a close…

  • The Red Sox have considered activating catcher Christian Vazquez from the disabled list, manager John Farrell told reporters, including the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter link). Per Farrell, nothing is imminent, but the club has had ongoing discussions about its catching situation. ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber points out (Twitter link) that sophomore backstop Blake Swihart had a rough game defensively but also notes that Vazquez, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has yet to catch three games in a row on his rehab assignment.
  • Former Blue Jays/Mariners outfielder Eric Thames sat down with Blake Murphy of VICE Sports to discuss his transition to the Korea Baseball Organization and his rise to the status as arguably the league’s best player. The 29-year-old outfielder/first baseman was the KBO’s MVP last season, batting .381/.497/.790 with 47 homers and, incredibly 40 stolen bases (despite never stealing more than eight in a North American season). Thames explained the work he’s put in with coach Jun-ho Jeon — known as the Stolen Base King of Korea. “Even little things like the way the glove’s tilted a little bit—’OK, go.’ ’On this pitch, go,'” Thames explained. “It’s like, are you serious? And then—bam!—it’s a high leg kick or a curveball. It’s like, how do you even know that? He’s one of those guys that has a natural eye for base-stealing.” While the KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly league, it’s tough to write off Thames’ outrageous production as a pure result of that environment. Thames discusses some elements that he feels have helped him improve his game and also discusses the cultural differences between playing in North America and in Korea. He’ll be a free agent next winter and added that he’s keeping an open mind to taking another shot at playing in the Majors. He’ll be somewhat of a wild card on next winter’s thin free agent market.
  • The Dodgers’ bullpen has struggled early on, writes Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, but the team isn’t planning on making any drastic alterations to the composition of its relief corps just yet. McCullough notes that if the Dodgers do elect to make some changes, there are myriad internal options, and those alternatives will only grow in numbers as Hyun-jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson get healthy. A return from any of those arms could push a starter like Alex Wood or Ross Stripling to the bullpen, and McCullough points out that the Dodgers’ large slate of arms and ability to take on salary should also present the club with various trade scenarios as the deadline approaches this summer.

MLB Releases 2016 Draft Bonus Slots

By | at

Major League Baseball has released the final draft bonus slots to teams, and MLB.com’s Jim Callis provides the figures. As he explains, and the attached table reflects (mobile link), the Reds have the highest total draft spending power and are one of five clubs with over $10MM in bonus pool money.

2016drafttotalpool

Among the other interesting notes in the post, Callis says that the total draft pool this year adds up to $234,331,200. Last year, he adds, a cool $248,831,830 was spent on bonuses — nearly $40MM of which came outside the top ten rounds.

Having the largest amount of cash to distribute is one thing, but teams still need to be able to put it to strategic use. Last year, the Astros showed the power of the pool money by convincing Daz Cameron to convince other teams he was uninterested in signing because Houston had a big bonus sitting for him (ultimately, $4MM) with the 37th pick. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, left a significant portion of their total spending capacity untapped, though senior VP DeJon Watson explained that the club got the players it wanted and also felt it would have been difficult to get a player to wait until the 43rd selection (Arizona’s second pick).

In that regard, the volume of top selections matters, too, because it increases an organization’s flexibility — especially as the always fluctuating draft board begins to unfold. The Phillies don’t make their second choice until the first pick of the second round, while the Reds sit at 35th.
2016draftfirstround

In terms of actual bonus allocations for each pick, you’ll need to check out the full piece from Callis to see all of the first ten rounds. But we’ve compiled a table for the first round, at right (mobile link).

Other teams stand out with interesting early pick combinations, including the White Sox (#10, #26); Cardinals (#23, #33, #44); and Dodgers (#20, #32, #36). While it’s certainly possible to simply take the best players on the board and sign them for close to the pool money, these are among the organizations that will have more elbow room to pursue creative combinations.

If you’re in need of a refresher for how draft bonus caps work, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has broken things down, making clear why teams have never yet gone more than 5% past their spending allotment. As Steve wrote:

All bonus money directed toward a player selected in the Top 10 rounds of the draft counts against a team’s bonus pool, as does any bonus money that exceeds $100K to players selected in rounds 11 through 40 (for example, a $180K bonus to a team’s 11th-round pick would result in $80K being removed from its draft pool). As a reminder, the penalties for exceeding draft bonus pools are as follows:

  • Exceed by 0 to 5 percent: 75 percent tax on the overage.
  • Exceed by 5 to 10 percent: 75 percent tax on the overage plus the loss of a first-round pick in the following year’s draft.
  • Exceed by 10 to 15 percent: 100 percent tax on the overage plus the loss of a first- and second-round pick in the following year’s draft.
  • Exceed by more than 15 percent: 100 percent tax on the overage plus the lost of a first-round pick in the following two drafts.

2016 Draft & International Pool Changes By Team

By | at

Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky reports that draft and international spending pools will rise by about 4.6 percent in total for the 2016 Rule 4 Draft in June and the 2016-17 international signing period, which kicks off on July 2. Belinsky provides total draft and international pools for all 30 clubs, with the Reds ranking first in terms of draft bonus pool at $13.923MM and the Phillies laying claim to the top international pool by virtue of finishing with the league’s worst record in 2015.

2016 Draft Pool Changes

For MLBTR purposes, I’ve compiled quick references highlighting the year-to-year changes in each club’s draft and international spending pools, although it’s important to stress that the draft pools are still highly subject to change; Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler and Yovani Gallardo all remain unsigned and will all require a club to forfeit its top unprotected pick upon signing, while the Nationals, Cubs and Rangers will all receive comp picks in exchange for those losses (Links to draft changes table and to international changes table for mobile app users).

Notably, that means that the Orioles’ current projection of a $10.457MM bonus pool is likely due for a precipitous decline, as the team has been rumored to be nearing a deal with Gallardo for nearly a week. While the exact value of the No. 14 overall pick that Baltimore would surrender isn’t known, last year’s 14th overall selection carried a value of $2,842,400. A 4.6 percent increase in that figure — the number referenced by Belinsky — would result in a slot value of $2,973,150. That figure would completely negate Baltimore’s $2.78MM pool increase, and the O’s could stand to incur further draft losses if they complete a deal with Gallardo and go on to pursue Fowler, as has been rumored. Baltimore’s second pick, No. 29 overall, would rise to 28th overall in the event that a deal with Gallardo is completed. Again, based on last year’s $1.975MM value for that slot and a 4.6 percent increase, the Orioles would stand to lose $2.066MM in draft money, bringing their total loss in the event of those rumored signings to $5.039MM — roughly 48 percent of their overall pool.

While the Reds have the largest draft pool overall, it’s the Padres who saw the largest increase in their draft spending potential, as the team received compensatory picks for the departures of both Ian Kennedy and Justin Upton in addition to winning the first pick in Competitive Balance Round B, which sits at No. 71 overall. As Belinsky points out, that gives San Diego six picks in the top 85 of the upcoming draft (so long as the club does not sign one of the aforementioned free agents, which indeed appears unlikely).

Conversely, no team has seen as swift of a fall in its draft spending potential as the Astros, who went from an enormous bonus pool of more than $17MM to a more standard pool of $5.866MM. (Last year, Houston picked second, fifth and 37th overall in the draft, thus creating the record-setting bonus pool.) The D-backs lost more than $8MM in pool money due to the fact that they dropped from the No. 1 overall pick to the No. 16 pick and subsequently forfeited the pick anyway to add Zack Greinke.

The Cubs punted a pair of picks to sign Jason Heyward and John Lackey, though they’ll see a notable bump back up the rankings when they receive a comp pick after Fowler signs (that comp pick between the first and second rounds will be eliminated due to the Heyward/Lackey signings, but Chicago’s second-round pick will then be restored, adding about $920K to its pool). Similarly, the Nats and Rangers will each see their draft allotments jump north of $7MM once Desmond and Gallardo sign.

2016 International Changes

Meanwhile, the Phillies enjoy the largest increase in baseball on the international side of the equation, although the size of their pool could be rendered moot if the team exceeds its cap by a wide enough margin. Philadelphia is reportedly planning to be aggressive, and if the team plans to incur significant penalties, then the only real gain from the top pool is a bit of a break on luxury taxation. As such, if the Phils plan to shatter the pool anyhow, they could actually trade away slots. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, if they’re incurring maximum penalty anyhow, the slots would hold more valuable to a team that isn’t planning to do incur penalties, and the only loss for the Phillies would be more money.

The fact that the Reds are set to receive the third-largest increase again brings to light the team’s curious ties to Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez in January. Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty denied that a deal was in place at the time that news of a $6MM signing bonus from Cincinnati to Rodriguez broke, and the team has yet to announce a deal. However, if Cincinnati does indeed come to terms with Rodriguez for that sum, it would prevent the team from signing a player for more than $300K in either the 2016-17 signing period or the 2017-18 signing period, thus mitigating the advantage of their notable pool increase. Instead, the Reds would likely trade away their international bonus slots this summer, and while that money can indeed be a deal-sweetener when talking with other clubs, international slots on their own haven’t been traded for much in the way of high-profile prospect capital. Straight-up swaps for international money have previously involved players such as Aaron Kurcz and Garrett Fulenchek. While some of the players in these deals could prove to be solid pieces in the long run, giving $6MM to Rodriguez would mean that the Reds elected to exceed their pool well after the top talent on this year’s international class had signed. Beyond that, they’d be doing it so by signing a limited number of players — highlighted by a defensively gifted but light-hitting shortstop — instead of taking a bulk approach and acquiring multiple prospects in next year’s class.

Looking to other clubs that have incurred maximum penalties, the Royals, Dodgers and Giants are all in roughly the spot in which they entered the 2015-16 period, but those slots will be used as trade fodder this summer after their significant international expenditures over the past seven and a half months. The Yankees, Rays, D-backs, Angels and Red Sox all look like reasonable candidates to trade away the majority of their international slots this coming signing period as well due to the fact that each team incurred maximum penalties in the 2014-15 signing period.

AL Central Notes: Sano, Indians, Gurriel, Tigers

By | at

On this day in 2005, the Twins signed Johan Santana to a four-year, $39.75MM extension in the wake of the southpaw’s Cy Young Award season.  The deal not only gave the small-market Twins some cost certainty through Santana’s arbitration seasons and his first free agent year, it also proved to be a nice bargain as Santana put up sterling numbers from 2005-07 (including another Cy Young in 2006).  He didn’t finish out that deal in a Twins uniform, however, as Santana was traded to the Mets in February 2008.  Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins’ signing of Miguel Sano is chronicled by Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a transaction that the team hopes will not only help the Major League roster if and when Sano becomes a star slugger, but one that also cemented the Twins as players on the international market.  Minnesota encountered several obstacles in its pursuit of Sano, including a lengthy investigation into his age and the team’s willingness to go beyond its international spending comfort zone to land a prospect that seemingly everyone in the Twins organization believed was an elite talent.
  • The Indians have scouted Yulieski and Lourdes Gurriel and will check in on the two Cuban stars, though Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer doesn’t think the Tribe has the money it will take to land either player.  Hoynes also addressed several other Tribe-related topics as part of this mailbag piece.
  • The Tigers like drafting hard-throwing college pitchers, yet as ESPN’s Keith Law tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press, nobody who fits that description is likely to be available when the club makes the ninth overall pick in June.  Law suggests that the Tigers could opt for a high school pitcher instead (such as Forrest Whitley or Greg Veliz) or they could possibly go for position player talent instead with Puerto Rican shortstop Delvin Perez.

Quick Hits: Strauss, Tigers, Castellanos, Martinez

By | at

Joe Strauss, who covered the Braves, Orioles and Cardinals over three decades as a reporter and columnist for several news outlets, passed away today at age 54 due to complications from a battle with leukemia.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko are just a few of the many peers who paid tribute to Strauss with chronicles of his outstanding career and remembrances of their friend and colleague.  Countless news items from Strauss appeared on this website’s pages over the years, and all of us on the MLB Trade Rumors staff send our condolences to Strauss’ friends and family.

Here are some notes from around the game as we head into a new week…

  • The Tigers have been getting calls about Nick Castellanos, Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports.  Castellanos was a 2010 first-rounder and a former top prospect, though he’s underwhelmed both offensively and defensively in two full Major League seasons, posting negative fWAR totals in both 2014 and 2015.  These struggles notwithstanding, it’s probably unlikely that Detroit would move Castellanos since he’s only 23 and under team control through the 2019 season.
  • Also from Paul, he guesses that once J.D. Martinez and the Tigers get talking about an extension, the negotiations will be in the neighborhood of a four-year, $60MM deal.  This contract could be backloaded, which would allow the team to pursue more upgrades now and pay Martinez his biggest salaries later once other large contracts have come off the books.  Martinez is entering his age-28 season now and has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency, so under Paul’s projected extension, Martinez would reach the open market as a 32-year-old having given up two free agent years.  The $60MM number may be a little conservative, in my view, given how first-rate hitting is at a premium.
  • While the Tigers aren’t shy about spending, Paul doesn’t think the team will stray too far (if at all) over the luxury tax limit, so landing a top outfield name like Yoenis Cespedes or Alex Gordon is probably unrealistic.  Detroit could move another big contract like Ian Kinsler to make payroll space, though Paul points out that the team would just be creating a new hole at second base to solve a hole in left field.  The Tigers could instead save any payroll room for a trade deadline addition.
  • At the Winter Meetings, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko that the club was willing to surrender its first round draft pick (14th overall) to sign the right qualifying offer free agent but it wouldn’t be without great consideration.  “It would have to be something that really fits. But we would if we had to,” Showalter said.  “But one of our big days is going to be…in June, we got seven picks in the first 100 in the draft. I don’t know if we’ve ever had that. This is big for us. We can solidify our already strong system.”  An interesting wrinkle to Showalter’s statement is that the O’s are actually guaranteed to have only five picks within the first 91 selections.  They would only receive those two other picks if QO free agents Wei-Yin Chen and Chris Davis both signed elsewhere.  Since Showalter’s statement was made during the Meetings, it would’ve come roughly around the time that Baltimore pulled its $150MM offer to Davis off the table, so the manager’s words could be interpreted as a hint that the O’s could be prepared to move on from the first baseman (though the two sides have since continued to talk).

Updated 2016 Draft Order

By | at

While several major free agents have already been signed this offseason, there has been relatively little change to the 2016 amateur draft order.  It’s a little surprising given that, with a record 20 free agents receiving qualifying offers, the stage was set for a massive reshuffle for next year’s first round.

Or maybe, in hindsight, it’s not that surprising that the list of QO free agents is still pretty robust as we hit Christmas.  As ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote in his most recent subscription-only column, some agents and executives think that with an increasing number of teams preparing to “tank” the 2016 season, this has thinned the market for suitors for these established veterans.  There has also been a lot of attention paid to the free agents who didn’t have draft pick compensation attached to their services, as David Price, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake and Ben Zobrist have all been signed.

Assuming Daniel Murphy’s agreement with the Nationals is finalized, that will account for 11 of the 20 qualifying offer free agents off the board.  Of that 11-man group, Hisashi Iwakuma and Marco Estrada signed new contracts with their former teams and while three players (Colby Rasmus, Matt Wieters, Brett Anderson) also stayed put and set a precedent by accepting the QO.  That accounts for six free agent signings that impacted the updated draft order…

FIRST ROUND

1. Phillies
2. Reds
3. Braves
4. Rockies
5. Brewers
6. Athletics
7. Marlins
8. Padres
9. Tigers
10. White Sox
11. Mariners
12. Red Sox
13. Rays
14. Orioles
15. Indians
16. Twins
17. Angels
18. Astros
19. Yankees
20. Rangers
21. Mets
22. Dodgers
23. Blue Jays
24. Royals
25. Pirates
26. Cardinals

COMPENSATION ROUND (bonus picks given to teams who issued qualifying offers to players who signed elsewhere; picks are allotted in inverse order of 2015 record)

27. White Sox (for Jeff Samardzija signing with the Giants)
28. Nationals (for Jordan Zimmermann signing with the Tigers)
29. Mets (for Daniel Murphy signing with the Nationals)
30. Dodgers (for Zack Greinke signing with the Diamondbacks)
31. Cardinals (for John Lackey signing with the Cubs)
32. Cardinals (for Jason Heyward signing with the Cubs)

Thus far four teams (San Francisco, Arizona, Chicago and Washington) have given up their first-rounder to sign a qualifying offer free agent.  The D’Backs were originally slated for the 13th overall pick of the first round, the Nationals 18th, the Giants 19th and the Cubs 28th.

Since the Cubs signed two QO free agents, they’ve also given up their first pick of the second round.  It’s possible Chicago could recoup a pick in the compensation round, however, if the qualifying-offered Dexter Fowler signs with a new team.  Along those same lines, Washington gained a compensatory pick for Zimmermann and will get another when Ian Desmond signs elsewhere, which undoubtedly factored into the Nats being comfortable enough to give up their first-rounder for Murphy.

The top 10 slots in the draft are protected, so Detroit kept its first-rounder (ninth overall) and only has to surrender its top second-round pick in order to sign Zimmermann.

Beyond the compensation round are the Competitive Balance Selections (which were determined by a lottery in July and can be traded) and various other extra picks given to teams who failed to sign players in those corresponding spots in last year’s draft.  MLB.com’s amateur draft site has a full listing of every pick within the first three rounds, minus the changes in the wake of the Murphy agreement.

NL East Notes: Minaya, Marlins, Phillies, Storen

By | at

Though many felt that Omar Minaya left the Mets with a barren farm system and more than deserved his dismissal as GM in 2010, Michael Powell of the New York Times notes that many of the Mets’ key contributors in 2015 are from the Minaya regime. Minaya tells Powell that he takes pride in knowing that he helped lay the groundwork for the team’s current success, noting that he still gets excited seeing players like Jeurys Familia and Hansel Robles succeed. As Powell points out, those two pitchers, along with Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, Juan Lagares, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Jon Niese were all signed or drafted during Minaya’s time as GM. Minaya defers much of the credit to scouts such as Ismael Cruz, Rudy Terrasas, Ramon Pena and Larry Izzo, but the now-former GM nonetheless deserves credit for some of the talent he left for successor Sandy Alderson. “You’re just happy to be part of something that is working today; a story is not written by one man,” said Minaya, who is now a senior adviser to MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. “If I said I always knew all these kids would be this good, I’d be lying.”

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • The Marlins are playing for more than pride and third place in the NL East, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Though the playoffs, of course, are not a possibility for Miami, the team’s performance over the final 16 games could help shape the front office and owner Jeffrey Loria’s course of action this offseason. Frisaro notes that it’s “no secret” that the club is willing to trade Marcell Ozuna, but a dismal finish to the year could potentially leave the front office convinced that further changes are required and thusly place even more players on the trade block.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com spoke with Baseball America’s John Manuel about the pitchers that could be waiting for the Phillies at the top of next year’s June draft. As Salisbury notes, incoming president Andy MacPhail is known as a “pitching guy” and has in the past been quoted as saying, “Buy the bats. Grow the arms.” Manuel tells Salisbury that among single-digit picks in next year’s draft (i.e. those chosen picks 1 through 9), pitching is a strength. Florida left-hander A.J. Puk, high school lefty Jason Groome and high school right-hander Riley Pint make up the top three arms in next year’s draft class, Manuel tells Salisbury. Those interested in the Phillies and in next year’s draft will surely want to give the column a lengthier look.
  • Drew Storen expressed regret to reporters, including MLB.com’s Ben Raby, over his actions that led to a fractured thumb that will end his season. The displaced Nationals closer Storen broke the finger when slamming a locker door after surrendering a two-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes. “Obviously, I was a little frustrated with my outing, but I had no intention [of causing harm],” said Storen. “I’m not the type of guy to punch a wall or do something like that. It’s not what I was aiming for.” Storen dismissed the notion that he may have played his final game for the Nats, writes Raby — he’s been mentioned as a speculative trade candidate this offseason — instead stating that his focus is on getting healthy and supporting his Nationals teammates in the season’s final few weeks. Storen will be arb-eligible for the final time this offseason and due a raise on his $5.7MM salary. He’ll be a free agent following the 2016 season.

Reverse Standings At MLBTR

By | at

As the post-season chase takes shape, it’s time again to think about the placement of the teams that are falling out of the picture. While those in the mix for pole draft position sit at or near the bottom of their respective divisions, they stand to cash in with lofty selections in next year’s draft. This season’s Reverse Standings will be updated as results come in, and can always be accessed via the right-side toolbar (under “MLBTR Features”) at MLBTradeRumors.com.

Why “reverse standings”? Draft order is determined by simple reference to win-loss record at the end of the season, worst to first. Any ties are broken by awarding the higher pick to the team that had the lesser winning percentage in the prior season. (While compensation picks are given to teams that fail to sign players from the previous draft, at one slot below the selection, that rule won’t impact things this time around since all of the 2015 first rounders are under contract.)

The other important thing to note, of course, is the concept of protected picks. While a team that signs a free agent who declined a qualifying offer sacrifices its highest draft choice, teams awarded top-ten selections are not required to part with those picks to sign such a player. Instead, those clubs would give up their next-highest pick in the event that they sign a QO-rejecting free agent. In the reverse standings linked above, protected selections are denoted with a green check mark.

As things stand entering today’s action, the Braves are right on the heels of the Phillies for the first overall choice in the 2016 draft. Landing the top overall pick not only gives a team a chance to take any player available, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler explained yesterday (Twitter links), but provides that club with a massive bonus pool and the ability to “control the leverage of the entire draft” by reaching arrangements with other top players that can be selected with later picks.

The Astros have demonstrated that approach several times in recent years. Back in 2012, they took Carlos Correa over Byron Buxton in part to help add Lance McCullers Jr. and Rio Ruiz (not to mention players like Brett Phillips and Preston Tucker). And last year, utilizing a pair of top-five selections, the club was able to score top-ten talent Daz Cameron in the 37th overall slot.

Notably, also, several teams in the “race” for top draft picks already have — or could obtain by trade — competitive balance selections that would open more slot money and an additional early selection. Those choices, which take place after the first round (including its qualifying offer-compensation component), were determined by lottery. The Reds, A’s, Rockies, D’backs, Marlins and Pirates received the six Round A picks this year, in that order, and all but Pittsburgh also stand to pick up top-ten selections if the current reverse standings hold.

2016 Competitive Balance Lottery Results

By | at

The Reds have drawn the first competitive balance selection in the 2016 draft, as Cash Kruth of MLB.com reports. While the precise draft slots remain to be determined, Cincinnati will pick after the conclusion of the first round (including compensation choices).

Here is the order of the selections, which were determined by lottery between the clubs that fell among the ten smallest markets and/or the ten smallest revenue pools league-wide. Other teams that participate in revenue sharing are also eligible, but only for the second round.

Round A (selections occur after first round)

1. Reds
2. Athletics
3. Rockies
4. Diamondbacks
5. Marlins
6. Pirates

Round B (selections occur after second round)

1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Brewers
5. Orioles
6. Rays

These results mean that the Cardinals, Royals, and Mariners failed to receive a pick despite being eligible. With some restrictions, the picks can be traded — and increasingly have been in recent seasons. You can take a look at this year’s draft results and slot values to get an idea of the range of selections (and drafted players) that the most recent competitive balance awards ultimately represented.

Top Picks Funkhouser, Singer, Hughes, Cody Do Not Sign

By | at

The deadline for 2015 draft picks to sign is today at 5pm ET, and entering Friday, there were seven players from the top two rounds that remained unsigned: No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson; Dodgers top picks Walker Buehler (No. 24) and Kyle Funkhouser (No. 35); Brewers Competitive Balance (A) pick Nathan Kirby (No. 40); Blue Jays second-rounder Brady Singer (No. 56); Orioles second-rounder Jonathan Hughes (No. 68); and Twins Competitive Balance (B) pick Kyle Cody (No. 73).

Swanson, Buehler and Kirby have reportedly agreed to sign, but we’ll run down the list of top picks that have elected not to sign right here…

  • Baseball America’s John Manuel reports (on Twitter) that Cody will not sign with the Twins and will instead return to Kentucky for his senior season. Minnesota will receive the No. 74 pick in this year’s draft.
  • Singer will indeed attend college rather than sign with the Blue Jays, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets, this marks the third time in five seasons that the Blue Jays have failed to sign a first- or second-round pick. Toronto will receive the No. 57 pick in next year’s draft.

Earlier Updates

  • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the D-Backs have offered Swanson a bonus of $6.5MM or more, but he’s yet to decide on whether or not to accept. That’s about $2.116MM below the slot value at No. 1 overall. Swanson is reportedly being advised by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management.
  • It “looks like” Singer will attend Florida rather than sign with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). That’s not the same definitive type of report listed below, however, so there would at least appear to be room for the two sides to strike a last-minute deal in the final hour. The Blue Jays would receive the 57th pick in next year’s draft if the high-school righty elects college over pro ball.
  • Funkhouser tweeted today that he will not sign with the Dodgers and will instead return to Louisville for his senior season. The college right-hander was at one point thought to be a potential Top 10 pick, but as Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill wrote last night, attrition of Funkhouser’s stuff as the draft approached caused his stock to slip. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that the Dodgers offered Funkhouser roughly $2MM, which was above his $1.756MM slot, though also considerably lower than the amount he’d have gotten without the late dip in his draft stock. The Dodgers will receive the No. 36 pick in the 2016 draft as compensation, and they’ll now turn their focus to signing Buehler, a right-hander out of Vanderbilt. Because Funkhouser did not sign, however, his $1.756MM slot value will be subtracted from the Dodgers’ allotted draft pool.
  • MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Hughes will not sign with the Orioles and will instead Georgia Tech. A high school righty out of Georgia, Hughes’ No. 68 overall slot came with a value of $907K, though it’s not clear what sort of offer the Orioles made. Baltimore will be awarded the 69th pick in next year’s draft as compensation for failure to sign Hughes. Still, the loss of a top pick just one year after not picking until the third round (the Orioles forfeited draft picks to sign both Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez) and just months after trading a Competitive Balance pick to the Dodgers to relieve themselves of Ryan Webb’s salary is a tough blow for the Baltimore farm system. They did, however, net an extra pick when Cruz, who had received a qualifying offer, signed in Seattle.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows FOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top