9:07pm: The Nationals officially announced their deal with Cole (on Twitter).
MONDAY, 7:20pm: The Nationals officially announced their agreement with Solis via press release. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post notes that the left-hander gets $1MM, confirming Baseball America's report (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 1:19pm: Callis tweets that there's no snag between the Nationals and Cole — they've agreed to terms and the deal should get done as long as Cole passes his physical.
1:17pm: Callis also reports that the Nats have also signed 12th-rounder Robbie Ray for $799K. The high school southpaw's bonus is the second largest for any player drafted later than the fourth round this year.
Callis says Ray impressed scouts last fall with a mid-90s fastball, but worked around 89-91mph for most of his senior season, which contributed toward him slipping to the later rounds.
1:00pm: A "last-minute problem" has gotten in the way of the Nats finalizing their deal with Cole, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter). The two sides still have until tomorrow night to work out any issues and get a deal done.
7:59am: The Nationals committed big money to a pair of draft picks by reaching agreements with pitchers A.J. Cole and Sammy Solis, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America. According to Callis, both players received deals well over MLB's slot recommendations, though GM Mike Rizzo denies that any agreements are in place. Callis reports that Cole, a fourth-round pick, received a $2MM deal, while Solis, a second-round pick, got $1MM. Cole's bonus is a record for the fourth round.
Cole, a righty drafted out of high school, has first-round talent comparable to that of the Padres' #9 overall choice, Karsten Whitson. Solis, a southpaw out of the University of San Diego, dealt with a back injury in '09 but bounced back this year.
The Nationals are once again spending big on the draft, with a potential deal for Bryce Harper expected Monday night.
This is awesome for the Nat’s. Even if they don’t sign Harper Cole is still a legit first round pick. The only thing i don’t like is that the Jays (and everyone else) could have had him in the supplemental round, since he was extremely signable for those who would pay the 2mil. Man, for a projected top ten pick this was a great value signing in the later rounds, good job Nats.
Yeah. Whatever anybody says, this is the right thing to do.
Cole could have been a 1st rounder but obviously has a hefty price tag and they didnt know if he would go to college. Solis is a future left handed ace and both of these pitchers have really good stuff.
They need to sign both of these fellas and as you said, it’s a steal for the Nats.
“Solis is a future left handed ace” yeah, that would be stretching it. Before the draft most prospect evaluators were saying his ceiling was as a number three starter. You never know for sure, and he’s a good prospect, but it’s not reasonable at this point to project him as an frontline starter.
It doesn’t hurt to be optomistic. The reason I say he is a future left
handed ace, is because of his poise and ability to locate his pitches. He’s
still young but should progress quickly and reminds people a lot of Chuck
Finley.
How come the fourth round guy gets more than the 2nd round guy…
the fourth rounder had a better agent.
Each agent tries to workout the best deal for his client. I’m sure Cole’s agent worked hard for that 2 million. When the Nats drafted him they knew it would cost a lot because he was first round talent, he wanted first round money, and most teams thought he would go to college ball at Miami.
HS guy and harder to sign.
great news. i wish nothing but great things for the washington franchise! …i still wish they were called the senators. i have a feeling the 3rd time around would have worked out, lol.
I love that they signed Cole, I didn’t think they would get this deal done. I was happy when they drafted him in the 4th round but i figured it would end up being a wasted pick. Now we just need to sign Harper to a minor league deal, which I think will get done.
FWIW, Mike Rizzo (Nats GM) is denying these deals are done. Jim Callis (Baseball America) and Bill Ladson (MLB.com) are standing by their sources and stories. link to ht.ly
Sounds to me like the deals are done, but Rizzo doesn’t want them announced in order to please MLB because of the drastically over slot bonuses involved.
Rizzo is earning his paycheck tonight. I’m psyched at the Cole signing. If there was one draft pick that I would’ve guessed would not sign it would have been him. Now, if he can sign Harper, I’ll officially be a happy fan.
I’d be shocked about “if”, it’s the dollars at this point. For them to give all of the positive signs that they have to the press, they’ve got to be pretty sure that this is going to get done.
It’s Nats on parade! C’mon Harper! Jump in the line! And we’ve even got Boswell at WaPo slapping Ole’ Leatherpants in the face!
Bud Selig will be crying in his sleep tonight and wagging his pinky profusely at Mike Rizzo.
Mike Rizzo: “Don’t hate the playa hate the game! And no, Bud, you can’t have Adam Dunn neither!”
In other news, now that all this money is flowing in the last two drafts, how many Nationals fans are bitter about Teixeira turning down their offer and playing for the Yankees?
Bitter we are not. And personally, I would not have been upset if they’d decided to trade Dunn, get Hudson and pump a river of money at next year’s draft and internationals too. This is how the game is played and after watching 4+ years of Ole’ Leatherpants, this is some seriously refreshing stuff, like getting off of that island in Cast Away and finally getting a shower and shave.