Twins To Sign J.O. Berrios
The Twins have agreed to sign supplemental first round draft pick J.O. Berrios, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. Berrios, the 32nd overall selection, obtains a $1.55MM bonus.
Berrios, a high school right-hander, has a fastball that sits in the 93-95 mph range, a changeup and a sharp slider, according to Baseball America. MLB recommends a bonus of $1.55MM for the 32nd overall selection, which the Twins obtained as compensation for losing free agent Michael Cuddyer.
Draft Signings: Orioles, Angels, Tigers
Some significant signings from the second round and on…
- Elliott Waterman, Washington’s 13th round selection, agreed to sign with the Nationals for $100K, MLBTR has learned.
- The Orioles signed third round pick Adrian Marin for $481K, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (all Twitter links). That’s precisely the bonus MLB recommends for the 99th overall selection. Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich said "significant number" of picks have signed and are undergoing physicals, Connolly reports.
- The Angels announced they have agreed to sign 11 draft picks, including four of their first five selections. Right-hander R.J. Alvarez, the club’s third round selection, is one of the players to agree to terms. All of the 11 players are "at or very close to" their slotted amounts, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports (on Twitter).
- Right-hander Jake Thompson told James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press that he expects to sign with the Tigers tomorrow. The Tigers selected the high schooler with the 91st overall selection last week.
White Sox Sign Joey DeMichele
The White Sox signed third round selection Joey DeMichele, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned. The ASU second baseman will obtain a $400K bonus.
The White Sox selected DeMichele 108th overall, which means the White Sox obtained his rights for less than MLB's recommended bonus. The infielder is a tough out with a compact, left-handed swing, Baseball America wrote leading up to the draft. Lagardere-Unlimited advises DeMichele.
Mets To Sign Kevin Plawecki
The Mets have agreed to sign supplemental first round draft pick Kevin Plawecki, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports. He'll obtain a $1.4MM bonus.
The Mets chose the Purdue catcher with the 35th overall selection as compensation for losing Jose Reyes to free agency. MLB recommends a bonus of $1.47MM for the 35th overall selection, according to Baseball America.
White Sox To Sign Keon Barnum
MONDAY: Barnum has agreed to a $950K bonus, reports Keeley. The contract will become official once he passes his physical.
SUNDAY: The White Sox will sign supplementary first round pick Keon Barnum pending a physical on Monday, reports Laura Keeley of the Tampa Times. Barnum, a high school first baseman out of Tampa, will forego his scholarship to the University of Miami to join the White Sox organization after being selected 48th overall.
The White Sox were close to reaching an agreement with Barnum on draft night, according to Chicago's director of amateur scouting Doug Laumann. The recommended bonus for the selection is $1.05MM.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Dodgers Sign Jesmuel Valentin
3:50 pm: The Dodgers have officially announced the signings of Valentin, Stripling, Rathjen, Hershiser, and seven other draft picks.
3:15 pm: Baseball America's Jim Callis says Valentin signed for the recommended slot value of $984,700.
1:20 pm: The Dodgers have signed their supplementary first round draft choice Jesmuel Valentin tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Valentin, a middle infielder and teammate of the top overall pick Carlos Correa out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, was chosen 51st overall, a pick obtained for the loss of Rod Barajas. The recommended slot for the selection is $984,700.
The Dodgers, according to Hernandez, also signed their fifth round pick right-handed pitcher Thomas Stripling and their 11th rounder outfielder Jeremy Rathjen. Hernandez tweets that Jordan Hershiser, son of Dodger great Orel Hershiser, also signed. The younger Hershiser was the team's 34th round selection.
Twins, Buxton Near Agreement
2:05 pm: Al Goetz, the agent for Buxton, tells Christensen both sides will continue negotiating tomorrow, but those talks are "just formalities."
1:54 pm: Christensen clarifies (via Twitter) that Buxton will land in Minnesota tomorrow afternoon and the physical may not start until Tuesday.
1:31 pm: The Twins are close to an agreement with the draft's second overall selection outfielder Byron Buxton, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A person close to the negotiations tells Christensen a physical is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
The recommended slot for the second overall pick is $6.2MM. The Astros signed Carlos Correa, taken first overall, for a below slot bonus of $4.8MM on Thursday.
Draft Signings: Mathisen, Maxwell, Cardinals
Here are Saturday's notable non-first round draft pick signings…
- The Pirates have agreed to sign second rounder Wyatt Mathisen according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Sulia). Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects first reported the agreement. The high school catcher from Texas was the 69th overall pick, which carries a slot value of $746K.
- The Athletics have signed second rounder Bruce Maxwell for a below slot $770K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The college bat was slotted for $831K. Maxwell is represented by Matt Sosnick and Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
- In addition to first rounder Stryker Trahan, the Diamondbacks announced that they've agreed to terms with 30 other draft picks. Second rounder Jose Munoz and third rounder Jake Barrett highlight the crop. The Arizona Republic has the full list.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (on Twitter) that the D'Backs gave ninth rounder Jeff Gibbs a $90K bonus plus college tuition. Callis reports (on Twitter) that they gave fourth rounder Charles Taylor a $250K bonus. Slot money for those two picks is $125K and $286K, respectively.
- The Cardinals have signed third rounder Tim Cooney for a straight slot $404K bonus, reports Callis (on Twitter). The left-hander hails from Wake Forest.
- The Mariners have agreed to terms with fourth rounder Patrick Kivlehan, reports MLB.com's Josh Liebeskind. Slot money for the Rutgers third baseman is $353K. Seattle also signed 12th rounder Mike Faulkner for $100K according to Callis (on Twitter).
- The Red Sox have signed their fifth through tenth round draft picks according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. All six players are college seniors.
- The Royals have signed sixth rounder Zach Lovvorn for $275K, reports Callis (on Twitter). Slot money for the pick was $194K.
- The Astros announced the signing of eight more picks, including ninth rounder Daniel Minor. Houston has now signed 18 picks total according to the release.
- The Phillies have signed tenth rounder Kevin Brady for a straight slot $125K bonus according to Callis (on Twitter). The right-hander is out of Clemson.
Draft Signings: Melotakis, Jones, Alford, Astros, A’s
MLBTR will track which first and supplemental first round picks have signed leading up to the July 13th signing deadline. As for players selected in round two and beyond, here are some additional draft signings…
- The Twins have signed second rounder Mason Melotakis and fourth rounder Zach Jones, reports MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Both players are college pitchers; Melotakis a lefty and Jones a righty. Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter) that Jones signed for $357K, exactly slot money.
- The Brewers have signed 25th rounder Lance Roenicke according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter). Lance, a college outfielder, is the son of Brewers manager Ron Roenicke.
- The Blue Jays will sign third round selection Anthony Alford, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports. Alford, a high school outfielder, might have been a first round selection, but he informed teams of his intent to play football and baseball at Southern Mississippi instead of signing out of the draft. The Blue Jays will allow Alford to play football, Callis reports. The outfielder’s bonus remains unconfirmed, but it could be close to double the recommended value of $424K.
- The Astros announced the signing of eight selections, including fifth rounder Andrew Aplin.
- The A's announced that they agreed to terms with 13 players, including their fourth round selection, high school center fielder B.J. Boyd.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Brewers Sign Victor Roache
FRIDAY: The Brewers announced that they have signed Roache.
THURSDAY: The Brewers have agreed to terms with their first-round pick (28th overall) Victor Roache, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (Twitter link). Roache, an outfielder from Georgia Southern University, will receive a $1.525MM bonus, slightly below the recommended slot price of $1.65MM. Roache is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
Roache told 1250 WSSP Radio (h/t Jaymes Langrehr of Disciples Of Uecker) yesterday that his signing was imminent. "I’m coming into Milwaukee Thursday to get my physical and sign a contract, do the press conference and all that," Roache said. "You know, because of my injury from my college season, it was possible I might get shipped off to Phoenix and then start rehabbing, or I might come back home and find someplace here to rehab. Once I get my hand and wrist back fully 100%, they’re going to ship me off and we’ll start playing."
Brewers scouting director Bruce Seid told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter) on Wednedsay that the team was "close with a lot of the top guys."