Royals “Very Likely” To Sign Sean Manaea

Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports the Royals are "very likely" to sign Indiana State left-hander Sean Manaea to a well-over-slot deal. The Royals, according to Passan, are confident that the torn labrum in Manaea's hip won't be a long-term issue. Kansas City is familiar with Manaea's maladay, as Alex Gordon suffered a similar injury in 2009 (Twitter links).

The Royals gambled on this year's draft, selecting Stephen F. Austin State University shortstop Hunter Dozier with their eighth overall pick with the hopes of signing him under slot and making a run at Manaea. Things have gone according to plan thus far, as Dozier signed for $938K under slot value.

Manaea, who is advised by the Boras Corporation, was thought to be a potential No. 1 overall pick following a dominant showing in the Cape Cod League last summer. His injury issues caused him to fall out of the first round, and the Royals promptly took him with the first pick in the Competitive Balance round (No. 34 overall). That pick carries an assigned slot value of $1.623MM, per Baseball America, but Scott Boras made it clear weeks before the draft that Manaea would not sign for a discount.

In addition to Dozier, the Royals have also signed second-round pick Cody Reed for full slot value ($1.198MM). According to Passan's sources, a deal between the two sides could be reached as soon as this week.  The Royals have a draft pool of $8,290,700.