Teams have until 4pm CDT to sign their picks from this year's Rule 4 draft, so teams and advisors are in for a busy afternoon. We'll track the draft-related news here:
- Third round selection Avery Romero signed with the Marlins for $700K, Conor Glassey of Baseball America tweets.
- The Pirates signed 17th rounder Hayden Hurst for $400K, Callis tweets. Hurst appears to have obtained the second-biggest deal for players selected after the tenth round.
- The Athletics signed second round selection Nolan Sanburn for $710K, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets.
- Top Orioles pick Kevin Gausman is in Baltimore and a press conference will be held at 5pm CDT if the sides agree by today's 4pm CDT deadline, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets.
- The Cubs announced that they signed second round selection Duane Underwood. The high school right-hander doesn't turn 18 until next week. The Cubs reportedly agreed to a $1.05MM deal with Underwood.
- The Indians signed eighth round selection Caleb Hamrick, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The high school right-hander obtained a $180K bonus.
- You can track every unsigned selection at Baseball America. The list includes the four remaining unsigned first rounders: fourth overall selection Gausman (likely to sign with Orioles), eighth overall selection Mark Appel (Pirates), 16th overall selection Lucas Giolito (Nationals) and 25th overall selection Richie Shaffer (nearing deal with Rays).
- The Orioles' expected agreement with Gausman will be worth "around" $4.2MM, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports.
- It's unlikely the Pirates will sign Appel, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Heyman suggests there's a possibility of intervention from MLB officials.
- The Marlins agreed to sign first round selection Andrew Heaney, in case you missed it.
let’s say Appel doesn’t sign, pitches great, enters the draft next year and doesn’t sign again. Would it be possible for him to go to Japan for 1-2 years and then return to the MLB and sign with any team for any kind of money? Just wondering.
I think thats what Boras wants him to do. what a jerk.
Now the Pirates get three first round picks in next years draft, which is supposed to be alot weaker…
how will we have 3 picks in the first round? Wont we just have 8b and whatever pick the pirates finish in?
1 + 1 = 3
1 for losing appel, another for where they finish this year, and finally, a supplemental pick for failing to sign appel.
1+1+1=3
I don’t think that they get a supplemental pick for not signing Appel, just the 8b pick. They have a good chance at a pick in the 30’s in the competitive balance lottery, but that has nothing to do with Appel.
1 for losing appel, another for where the pirates finish this year, and then i think they get a supplemental pick for not signing him as well.
1+1+1=3
I read somewhere the draft will be better next year than this year.
The Buc’s will have 2 picks next June not 3.
I think MLB and Japanese baseball have an agreement where they wont sign each others players until they hit free agency.
Thats why they have the posting thing for Japanese players and MLB teams sell them players.
What does Heyman mean by “intervention” by MLB. Personally, I don’t care for the new CBA rules, but if Bud is looking to bend them on a case by case basis, then they are worse than worthless-they are an invitation for abuse.
I was wondering the same thing. I have no idea what that means.
Bucsfan: Yankee fan I may be, but I really like what the Pirates have been doing, and I think the new CBA is going to hurt any low to mid-market that wants to build through the draft. I know Bud wanted to push down signing bonuses, but it’s a lot cheaper to sign a young talent and hope he develops than spend a fortune on a 29 year old FA cashing in for the first time. The idea isn’t just to hold down salaries-it’s got to provide avenues for the less financially successful teams to compete.
I think they were referring to devine intervention because he ain’t signin.
Obviously, it’s a completely different set of circumstances, but these were basically the same things being said about Josh Bell last year.
I don’t have any basis to make this claim other than a gut feeling, but I think Appel signs at 4:59. Boras is just stringing this along. Appel is a smart guy, he goes to Stanford. He knows the risk vs. reward and it only makes sense to take the $3.8M.
Boras uses Heyman as his media puppet. No way MLB swoops in and gets involved in this.
Appel is the one with alot to lose, the pirates dont lose much, if anything, by getting their pick pushed back a year.
As a fan, I would be appalled (appel-ed?) if MLB bent the rules that they established to allow the Pirates to sign Appel under any circumstances other than the ones that every other team faced. I have nothing against the Pirates, but this is all on Boras and the kid and if they don’t want to sign under this system then they can not sign and go back to college, where Appel’s weakesses will be exposed even more, he’ll get drafted in a lower position, and he’ll be a graduating senior with no more eligibility and no leverage. Go for it, Mark! Seize the moment!
I think once drafted you should remain property of the drafting team for 3 years.
Isn’t that the rule the NBA and NHL use for international draft picks who don’t immediately sign contracts?
I don’t think it would work so well for MLB because then everyone would draft high school kids, let most of them go to college, and then not bother to sign them if they get hurt or don’t develop.
I think if they go to college then they have to stay 3 years anyway so would be eligible for the draft again at that time.
But it keeps the guys who just want to end up with certain teams holding out and playing somewhere else for a year and then reentering. It also keeps teams like the Pirates from drafting someone they know they won’t sign so they can just keep a pick in the next seasons draft. I’n not saying they did it this time, but it has been reported they have done it in the past.