The Athletics have reached deals with four of the club’s ten first-round selections, reports MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Among them is second-round (65th overall) choice Daniel Gossett, who gets a $750K bonus that falls $123K under the assigned slot value.
ESPN.com’s Keith Law was the most bullish draft observer with respect to Gossett, a junior righty from Clemson. Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com had him at 87th on their board, noting that Gossett’s relatively slight frame has led to questions about whether he can stick in the rotation.
Three other arms made up the rest of the signings. Fourth-rounder Jordan Schwartz gets $175K, a $110K savings as against the 132nd overall choice’s $385K slot value. Schwartz, a Niagara junior, was listed much later on Baseball America’s prospect rankings (376th). Meanwhile, agreements with ninth-rounder Mike Fagan ($20K bonus vs. $143.3K slot) and tenth-round selection Corey Miller ($15K bonus vs. $137.6K slot) also freed up cash.
All told, Oakland has opened up about $478.9K through these signings. The club entered the draft with a relatively paltry $4.78MM in available pool space.
That represents .
