Over the last month or so we've looked at the five largest signing bonuses each team has given to amateur prospects. The vast majority of those bonuses were given to drafted players, but there were certainly plenty of international free agents from Latin America and Asia as well. The bonuses included in the series total just under $500.4MM, ranging from the Braves ($9.67MM) to the Rays ($30.75MM) at the extremes. Here's a link back to all 30 clubs…
AL East
Blue Jays ($13.2MM)
Orioles ($20.072MM)
Rays ($30.75MM)
Red Sox ($15.75MM)
Yankees ($13.44MM)
AL Central
Indians ($14.875MM)
Royals ($20.25MM)
Tigers ($18.78MM)
Twins ($15.5MM)
White Sox ($15.306MM)
Angels ($16.63MM)
Athletics ($14.4MM)
Mariners ($16.34MM)
Rangers ($14.195MM)
NL East
Braves ($9.67MM)
Marlins ($13.425MM)
Mets ($13.3MM)
Nationals ($22.325MM)
Phillies ($13.18MM)
NL Central
Astros ($10.345MM-$10.545MM)
Brewers ($13.1MM)
Cardinals ($12.625MM)
Cubs ($16.15MM)
Pirates ($21.85MM)
Reds ($25.82MM)
Diamondbacks ($29.1MM)
Dodgers ($13.7375MM)
Giants ($16.175MM)
Padres ($15.7MM)
Rockies ($14.4MM)
Oh, the Yankees number isn’t the highest? Weird.
Not really, the Yanks haven’t had a really high draft pick in a while and, thus, no opportunities to give record bonuses.
this included internationals as well, but point well taken
It doesn’t look like it does. Hechevarria signed for 10mil with the Jays but that doesnt seem to be included in the total.
if you open the Jays bonus page you will see Hech is at the top of the list. and it was a $4 million signing bonus, the 10 mil was for the total contract
if you open the Jays bonus page you will see Hech is at the top of the list. and it was a $4 million signing bonus, the 10 mil was for the total contract
It doesn’t look like it does. Hechevarria signed for 10mil with the Jays but that doesnt seem to be included in the total.
Exactly. Teams that perennially pick at the top of the draft are going to have to pay more to sign their players than teams that pick at the end of the draft. However, teams like the Yankees do have the advantage of signing players that fall due to salary demands or to give players much higher than slot recommendations.
Exactly. Teams that perennially pick at the top of the draft are going to have to pay more to sign their players than teams that pick at the end of the draft. However, teams like the Yankees do have the advantage of signing players that fall due to salary demands or to give players much higher than slot recommendations.
Here’s a question…
Are the amount adjusted for inflation? Because 2M in 1998 is worth much, much more than 2M in 2010.
So, it’s pretty inaccurate.
Not adjusted for inflation. The signing bonuses are snapshots of what the teams have spent. The data goes back for every team so it’s okay to total them up this way without adjusting for inflation. If you do adjust them it would give you an idea of what each team has spent in todays dollars but simply adding them up like this tells you everything you need to know about what each team has spent overall.
yeah. i wasn’t expecting that. i guess i’m not completely shocked either though
yeah. i wasn’t expecting that. i guess i’m not completely shocked either though
I wasn’t in the least bit surprised. The Braves under Liberty Media are extremely cheap when it comes to the draft and giving out International signing bonuses. They have been near the bottom in money spent on the draft in the last several years. They rarely ever go over slot for a player or select a player that they know wants over slot money. If they had an ownership with some actual money to spend I can only imagine what a team that scouting department could develop.
I also wasn’t surprised by the Pirates being near the top. They are doing it the right way. Instead of signing old and over-the-hill veterans they are spending a lot of their available resources on the draft and in the international market. I expect that in a few years the Pirates will be a force to contend with. The Royals and Nats are doing the same thing.
I wasn’t in the least bit surprised. The Braves under Liberty Media are extremely cheap when it comes to the draft and giving out International signing bonuses. They have been near the bottom in money spent on the draft in the last several years. They rarely ever go over slot for a player or select a player that they know wants over slot money. If they had an ownership with some actual money to spend I can only imagine what a team that scouting department could develop.
I also wasn’t surprised by the Pirates being near the top. They are doing it the right way. Instead of signing old and over-the-hill veterans they are spending a lot of their available resources on the draft and in the international market. I expect that in a few years the Pirates will be a force to contend with. The Royals and Nats are doing the same thing.
Yeah, it seems like a lot of teams are focusing on the draft now because they’ve finally figured out that they can’t compete by paying for free agents. Makes me wonder what the signing bonuses will look like in a few years if the trend continues. With perennial bottom feeders like KC and Pittsburgh leading the way everyone is going to get in on it when those two start having success. Problem is that there are still only a finite number of talented player in the draft each year. If every team starts spending more on the draft a lot of players who’ll never make it to the big leagues are going to get a lot of money they don’t deserve. Spending on the draft is good but it still needs to be done wisely.
Yeah, it seems like a lot of teams are focusing on the draft now because they’ve finally figured out that they can’t compete by paying for free agents. Makes me wonder what the signing bonuses will look like in a few years if the trend continues. With perennial bottom feeders like KC and Pittsburgh leading the way everyone is going to get in on it when those two start having success. Problem is that there are still only a finite number of talented player in the draft each year. If every team starts spending more on the draft a lot of players who’ll never make it to the big leagues are going to get a lot of money they don’t deserve. Spending on the draft is good but it still needs to be done wisely.
And yet the Braves continually have a great amount of young talent, coming from both the draft and international signings.
Perhaps this anomaly is more indicative of the quality of their scouting.
-C