4:06PM: As earlier reporting indicated, Rocker and the Mets have not come to an agreement, according to the team. They will now received an extra pick in the first round of next year’s draft at #11 overall. Rocker’s agent, Scott Boras, released a statement to various reporters, including ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In it, he declares that “Rocker is healthy according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons.”
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com quotes general manager Zack Scott as saying “This is clearly not the outcome we had hoped for and wish Kumar nothing but success moving forward.”
Jon Heyman of MLB Network says that it’s expected that Rocker won’t return to college but will “work out on his own” and re-enter next year’s draft.
AUG 1, 11:26AM: Rocker and the Mets aren’t expected to reach an agreement before today’s 4pm CT signing deadline, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel. While not all hope has been abandoned that the two sides might still work something out, it would take “a drastic change” for a late agreement.
JULY 27: The Mets and Kumar Rocker had an agreement seemingly in place just hours after the Vanderbilt right-hander was selected with the 10th overall pick of the draft, but it now isn’t clear if the deal will be finalized. Metsmerized’s Jack Ramsey reported earlier this week that an issue had emerged from Rocker’s physical with the team, and now according to Ken Davidoff of The New York Post, the Mets are concerned about Rocker’s right elbow.
The exact nature of this elbow issue isn’t known, or even if there is an elbow issue, as Davidoff writes that “Rocker’s camp disagrees with [the Mets’] concerns.” Rocker did not voluntarily submit an MRI before the draft, though his advisor Scott Boras has been known to preemptively alert teams about physical problems involving prospects before the players are selected. Davidoff notes that Boras provided such an early heads-up to the Mets for Matthew Allan before New York picked the right-hander in 2019, and Allan later underwent Tommy John surgery.
Rocker somewhat surprisingly fell to the Mets after being one of the more hyped prospects of the 2021 class, though his initial deal reportedly contained an overslot bonus — the righty was set to receive a $6MM bonus, well above the $4,739,900 assigned slot price for the 10th overall pick. It stands to reason that the Mets are looking to reduce that $6MM figure, though it isn’t yet known whether the dispute between the two sides could result in Rocket not being signed whatsoever.
Teams have until 4pm CT on Sunday to sign all 2021 draft picks, so there is still plenty of time for an agreement to be reached. If a deal wasn’t worked out, Rocker still has two years of college eligibility remaining and he could re-enter the draft next year. The Mets would receive a compensatory first-round pick that would fall 11th overall in the 2022 draft order, though the draft’s rules could potentially change in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players (the current CBA expires in December).
Classic Mets!
How is this classic Mets? Which other pick of theirs did this happen to?
Kirk Presley. But it happens to everyone. But a redflag to me is if you know you are healthy then why not voluntarily submit MRI.
Exactly Lee Mazzilli.. It’s not like anytime a team signs a player to a contract they don’t have to take a TEAM physical with their own Dr’s.. This is Boras knowing full well everything is not well and jeopardizing the big pay day he has held up Cohen over and that Rocker’s elbow may not hold up again over the rigor’s of another vandy season if he refuses to sign for a more apt amount, taking into account his elbow could explode sooner, rather than later.
I’d suggest boras get to work on his silk covered book bluff with Cohen fast and try that, all the hope he has left on this extortion angle.
@ Lee Mazzilli for HOF –
An example of why not is R.A. Dickey who was very high draft pick with Rangers, elbow felt fine. Big pay day coming. MRI however revealed he was missing one of several elbow ligaments. Rangers still signed him, but the bonus he got was well below what he was going to get pre MRI.
I had to look it up. I had no idea he was such a high draft pick.
This happened with the Braves a few years back, and it resulted in them not signing their draft pick. He ended up going over to Japan, but he was also a high-school pitcher.
He didn’t nearly have the pedigree that Rocker has.
If I’m the Mets, I still sign him regardless. Get his elbow fixed up, and then move forward. You take a chance on pitchers with Rocker’s potential..
Odds are next year’s #11 pick will not nearly have the same upside as Rocker. Although, having two 1st rounders would allow them to manipulate the draft alot easier getting a good prospect or two possibly later on for an overshot deal..
The Braves did that a few drafts ago, and it worked out extremely well for them signing Ian Anderson for an underslot deal at #4, which allowed them to sign other pitchers like Bryse Wilson, Kyle Muller, and Joey Wentz.
But every MLB draft seems like a real crap shoot, so when you have a known commodity with star potential like Kumar Rocker, imo you sign him and take your chances regardless..
I commend Cohen and his medical staff. It’s much better to avoid signing a draft pick for millions, when that party and his advisors had something to hide.
I am not sure that i agree that next years 11th pick won’t have similar upside.
It has been known for a long time that there is a lot of effort to his delivery so I don’t know why the Mets drafted him knowing there might be a problem.
Don’t understand this. Literally almost every pitcher tbe Mets have has had Tommy John surgery, including Degrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler, when they had him, who now may win tbe Cy Young. If Rocker gets the same, likely he’ll win Cy Young in 5-10 years and Mets fans will be banging their heads (as usual)
Red flag was pitching starved Angels passing on him at 9.
How is it extortion to seek a fair contract?
If you wanna talk about criminals, then maybe you should do some research on Cohen..
n 2013, the Cohen-founded S.A.C. Capital Advisors pleaded guilty to insider trading and agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines ($900 million in forfeiture and $900 million in fines) in one of the biggest criminal cases against a hedge fund. Cohen was prohibited from managing outside money for two years as part of the settlement reached in the civil case over his accountability for the scandal. The hedge fund agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and four counts of securities fraud and to close to outside investors.
And MLB approved him as an owner.
They also took a pitcher though
I mean, Chris sale had a very high effort delivery and lanky frame and it took an extra decade for his elbow to blow.
There’s costs for a premier dr to perform the surgery, costs of rehab, and, knowing your prospect not only isn’t developing through the minors but also may slide backwards some from the inactivity. Most guys come back fine, but not 100%. And not every pitcher ends up making it either.
There’s speculation boras sometimes gives a heads up to teams… but how far down the draft order does he do it? And did he even do it? Isn’t that a hippa violation without pkayer consent? And this player didn’t give Mri images for whatever reason we can speculate?
Exactly, TJS is literally a right of passage for Mets pitchers and most hard throwing pitchers in the league; whether it hits in high-school, college or the pros it should not carry this stigma esp with a prospect.
Dickey is missing his UCL. The Rangers didn’t want to sign him at a first round price, but Dickey argued that he’d never had the UCL and pitched just fine without it, and would never need TJ surgery. They played hardball. Tough luck for him. He lost $800,000 of his signing bonus.
At the same time it can be said he fell to that pick because he didn’t volunteer to do the MRI.
Spot on
I found that strange too. I hate it for Rocker but love Boras got his bluff called. Now he can explain to the Rockers what the next move will be since he’s not going back to Vandy
Why doesn’t Kumar Rocker go back to Vanderbilt and finish out his collegiate career?
@FredMcGriff
Bad elbow
Because they must have been okay with this outcome heading in. They knew he didn’t submit an MRI and that Boras was his rep.
HIPAA only applies to Insurance companies, medical providers and support companies. Boras can do anything he wants with the information.
we are gonna disagree that 1.5 million over slot is ‘a fair contract’s. you have a job for me,?
Because he will need to get healthy. No need to go back.
The $6m offer came off the table when they saw his medical reports. They were happy with that offer, not with the presumably reduced number.
and the Angels took a pitcher with every one of their draft picks.
@believeitornot That is a VERY good question!
Someone read his biography!
You are correct. I was very surprised Sale held up and also knew the Red Sox made a mistake resigning him knowing he was probably shot. Rocker might be ok but if he failed a physical and refused an MRI why blow 6 million when they can get the number 11 pick next draft. I also agree with you suspecting Boras was not disclosing at the request of his client. The writer seems to believe Boras is ethical and communicates pending problems with draft choices. My own opinion is he only did so due to the fact surgery was inevitable in the case cited by the writer. If I was a GM or owner I’d probably try to avoid Boras clients at all costs. I’m in agreement of the opinion of the other poster that said the draft is somewhat of a crap shoot. Why pay way over slot when you’re not sure about the player being acquired? Mets did the right thing passing on Rocker.
@Teufelshunde4 Oh, and Cohen added Chris Christie to the Mets board of directors. No different than adding Anthony Weiner. You only do that to pay off a debt, it looks awful, and can’t possibly help the team. If you ask Christie what hard hit rate is he’d reply, “what, you mean the buffet?”
It’s increasingly clear Cohen is just Fred Wilpon with more money.
Classic Mets in that they consistently embarrass themselves with poorly thought out decisions.
It’s a new regime so hopefully without the Wilpons influence these situations will occur less and less
Exactly, Adolpho!
And it’s the same old Mets.
@Adlpho67 – What’s poorly thought in advance by the Mets with Rocker?
@sambino – How so?
They might have a new owner but they’re still the same old Mets.
Why, because one of their moves hasnt worked out instantly perfect? This is a blip, a normal snag that plenty of teams deal with. The “same old Mets” are in first place, by the way.
No. The Astros were paying Aiken under slot and using the extra to sign Nix. Once the 8 mil was pulled because Aiken didn’t sign, Houston couldn’t give extra to Nix without penalties. The Mets don’t have this issue because they offered Rocker over slot money which means other picks had to be getting under slot money.
and same ol clueles posters
How is it an embarrassment. Not signing him & getting the 11 pic next year. Every team drafts players that don’t sign.
Yeah, well those idiots are working for an MLB front office, and you’re just a random internet poster like everyone else.
I agree. When I peruse players’ histories on baseball reference dot com I frequently see that this player or that was drafted out of high school and didn’t sign.
There’s a big difference being drafted in the 15th round and not signing, and being drafted 10th overall and not signing. The first is “hey, we like you” and the player says thank you, I’m going to improve my stock. Can’t improve much from 10..
Same with the team. Do you think they’re going to be able to land a more talented arm at 11 in a lesser draft next year? And even if rocker needs TJ, he’d still be pitching again for a Mets affiliate before a 2022 draftee
Steven Matz
This is probably going to turn out just like the Carter Stewart situation the Braves had. Stewart had a Zito-esque curveball and the Braves took him with the 8th pick a few years ago. It turned out Stewart had a wrist injury on his pitching hand. From Stewarts perspective the injury shouldn’t have been a big deal becuase he suffered it during an incident while skateboarding in elementary school. His entire baseball career took place after the injury occurred so he could clearly pitch with it. Once the Braves found out they reduced their offer to the draft minimum 40% of slot value. Stewart turned it down and the Braves got the 9th pick in the following draft. It ended up working out for the Braves because they used that pick to draft Shea Langeliers who I think is probably a more highly regarded player than Stewart. Stewart ended up going to Japan for more guaranteed money. By the the time Stewarts contract in Japan is up it will be around the same time he would typically be reaching the majors over here. It sounds like Rocker’s injury is more baseball related though and thus more likely to effect how he plays baseball in the near future. The only issue the Mets have though is the fact Rocker was not supposed to fall that far in the draft. Do they really think they can get a player as highly regarded as him with an even lower pick next year? Stewarts agent was also Scott Boras so my guess is he is going to advise Rocker to follow the same path. At this point the Mets probably should’ve drafted Khalil Watson. I can’t believe he fell to the Marlins at 15. he was supposed to go top 5 easy.
If Rocker doesn’t sign – and doesn’t choose to go back to school (which would be most advisable, considering it’s Vandy) – can he not choose to become a free agent and sign with anyone rather than waiting until the 2022 Draft?
Rocker is a lot more experienced (at the highest level of college ball, FWIW) than a high school phenom, like Carter Stewart, with gaudy spin rates.
I believe American players are subject to the draft through their college eligiblity age. Only not being drafted releases them from it.
It’s sign or college or JC. Otherwise you can bypass the draft system quite easily
If Rocker was tendered an offer that he refused to sign, I can see why he has to go back into the draft – otherwise, all the top picks would just refuse their slot offers and go on to negotiate bigger paydays/sign with with better teams.
If the Mets literally don’t make an offer at all (a possibility according to the ESPN article), it would seem pretty messed up that Rocker couldn’t just become a free agent then. Why should he have to return to college or play overseas if the MLB team that drafted him won’t give him a contract?
He can also play in an independent league. The reason these are his choices is the league and players union, and colleges set up this agreement. If another major league team were to offer him a contract, they would be violating their agreement with the league.
classic moron
Mets are an embarrassment of an organization. I am done! Ive had enough of this filth. New owner same cheapness. This is getting old already. Another year wasted.
Brooklynmetsfan2 –
You seem to be having difficulty in understanding what is going on here
Not really. This happens a lot and look how it turned out for Buehler and the Dodgers.
Fred the dodgers+buehler did exact opposite though. They all agreed he needed TJ and a lesser bonus(aka the fact he fell to mid 20s). And they then rehabbed him to be even better. Doesn’t seem to be happening here
Least they didnt draft a football player.
CLASSLESS CRANKEE FAN …
Classic Mets fan, making puns as awful as the NY Post.
drafting and developing pitchers is really the only thing they’ve actually done right in the past.
Just sign the guy Mets. High ceiling for Kumar and the amount of money is peanuts to the new billionaire owner.
? That’s an inane comment.
The knuckle dragging “oRaNgE tEaM bAd’ crowd chiming in again. Cute. Your obsession is a little creepy, though.
I agree, Classic in the sense that every other team passed on this guy up to that point in the draft but the Mutts as always think they are smarter than everyone else!
As I said to an Angels fan who was upset they did not pick Rocker a day after the draft no one that physically big drops that much in velocity from fatigue.
As soon as Sandy was brought back Same Old Mutts
How could “every other team” have passed on Rocker when the Mets took him at #10. That means that only nine teams passed on him.
And people wanted to rip angels for not taking him. Guy has a huge ego, and just isn’t that good. Easy pass
Lose the pick too since they didnt make him the minimum offer at like 70% of slot so the pick is gone.
Nope. He did not submit his MRI pre-draft, so that rule does not apply.
@ Chapman Please tell me more about how they lose the pick. Very curious about this.
This is a bad look all around for Sandy Alderson and the rest of the front office! The front office should have looked into any elbow issue rumors BEFORE the draft and if the Mets were going to have concerns about Rocker’s elbow or whatever, draft someone else who will sign for slot who doesn’t have Scott Boras as an agent!
Well that sucks. I almost feel like with the NIL stuff, if Rocker truly is healthy, he’s almost incentivized to go back into the draft.
Why is that? As a pro he can still take advantage of his NIL rights while also getting $6 million bonus…which is probably 10-20x what he would have received in NIL deals in college
Didn’t harper only get like $1m a year from his shoe company? Can’t imagine a huge market for rocker.
As an Indian/African-American
There will be a few billion people who feel otherwise.
C.K.Rebel –
A few BILLION? Math isn’t your strong suit, I take it
Especially if he’s injured its probably smart to take millions of dollars now.
@nyr2k2 – interesting; I haven’t seen any college baseball players getting big deals yet, but I suppose he could capitalize if he returned, just can’t imagine he’s got the following to warrant anyway near $6M or even $3M in endorsements at this stage.
He’s already hired an agent, so I dont think he can return to school for baseball
If they call it advisor he can. I forgot who but it came up a few years ago in the draft.
That is correct! Players can hire an advisor and go back to college if a deal doesn’t materialize.
If he was truly healthy, he would have had no reason to opt out of the predraft medical info sharing program.
Sigh… The Mets…
To be fair here, the Red Sox made a similar gaff in this draft with Jud Fabian, their second round pick. While the Mets should have asked for medicals prior to selecting Rocker, the Red Sox should have listened to Fabian’s representation where he had other teams willing to pay him a $3M bonus in the second round. The Red Sox didn’t listen and now Fabian is heading back to Florida. Let’s hope they don’t change the rules in the new CBA and the Sox get a ‘do over’, second round, #5 overall pick in next year’s draft. It’s too bad because Fabian was a steal in the second round but with the Sox taking Mayer in Round 1, they couldn’t save enough funds in rounds 3-10 in order to sign Fabian for what he wanted. At least they were able to sign their 4th round pick, the catcher from Florida, to an over slot deal so all is not lost. Still, Fabian would have been an excellent talent to add the improving Red Sox farm system.
You! Don’t! Know! How! This! Works!
Looking forward to metsfan22’s twisted take on this.
haha – its all the Astros or Yankees fault!
Looking forward to signing him
I bet you are, Metsfan22. Going to be a mighty tough piece of crow for you to digest if they don’t.
It doesn’t matter that they wasted their first round pick in deep draft. They already have the division won. Are going to dominate baseball for the next 50 years. We have the richest owner in baseball.
50 years seems really high. The longest sports dynasties are 20ish years, and there’s no indication the Mets will even become a dynasty. Additionally, rich owners have led teams poorly before, and wealth isn’t an indication that the front office knows what they’re doing, or even wants to compete. Plus, with the Mets’ window of contention being lucky to stretch 5-6 years, it’s not feasible to assume they’ll have decades of unforseen good luck and that no opponent will ever put a team together to challenge them, just because they currently have a rich owner.
It was sarcasm…
Not wasted per se. They get the #11 pick in next year’s draft if they don’t sign Rocker.
But are they likely to have a guy with Rocker’s talent drop to them?
Thanks for the humor, we all needed a good laugh.
Imagine if they get the 11th pick next year when he doesn’t sign, but then don’t actually get it when the CBA changes and they just lose the pick. If I’m them, I just give him the money at this point.
It would be grandfathered in if the rule changed in the new CBA
I would have figured that too but article implies not necessarily.
I would imagine that even if it changes teams will get something if a 1st round pick doesn’t sign. I just cannot see the owners giving up that as leverage as right now they can walk away and just get the pick the following year.
There are absolutely zero guarantees that this will be true. Likely, yes. But there are still plenty of scenarios where it’s not grandfathered in. I personally won’t be putting much faith in either Manfred or the Union on doing this the right way.
I would like to believe there are alot more obvious issues that need to be fixed.
Nothing is guaranteed in CBA discussions.
any rumor from metsmerized should be taken with a significant amount of scepticism.
But his ranking?
Ooooh-boy, this we don’t need
There could be a risk. Astros did it with Brady Aiken. They were right
The Mets screwed something up ? Shocked, I tell you.
gmenfan –
Do you care to expand on your “thought” and tell us exactly how the Mets screwed up, or are you just looking to bash the Mets thoughtlessly?
The Astros were right about Brady Aiken. The media will praise the Mets someday if the mets are right here.
He’s not going higher than 10 next year. Take the 4 million and run.
LolMets
Well, this certainly adds validity to why the Angels passed on him.
I feel right now we were sold a bunch of nonsense but a hedge fund billionaire and all he did was sign lindor which he only did because it would of looked bad. Other then that he went cheap on McCann over reality. Didn’t sign springer and got outbid by 25 mill by Bluejays. Didn’t get Bauer which was a blessing obviously but the point is its a bunch of talk and nothing else. Like rich hill and Tyler Anderson while the rays who have 0 fans are going after Scherzer and Bryant after getting cruz.
they gave Stroman a QO, which was a good move.
Springer missed half the year, so tough to criticize them on that, at least for right now.
you can’t fix everything in a year. the things to watch for are extending deGrom this offseason before he can opt out after ’22 and dropping cano next year if he is not producing.
It remains to be seen if those things will happen, but that is what I expect from an owner willing to spend in order to win.
Is he related to John Rocker?
No , but I think Kumar’s dad is Tracey Rocker, a former NFL player
Yes. Step father.
If by “step” you mean “biological.”
I do not think John would appreciate being related to Kumar, based on his past comments..
I was more thinking that Kumar would not appreciate being related to John based on his ignorance – but that’s just me.
I had wondered if there was some medical stuff going on with him that teams didn’t like…That would explain the slip to 10.
If there is indeed some medical issues then the Royals fans angry that the Royals didn’t take him should publicly apologize to Dayton Moore
@Royalsfanamongwolves, The Royals will have a fair shot to draft him next year if they can nab a top 10 draft spot in 2022!
Maybe that explains the gradual decrease in velocity throughout the season this year. Started the year working in the mid-to-upper 90’s. Ended the year in the low-to-mid 90’s.
Inconsistent velocity is a major turn off.
Medical info that all teams would have had, including the Mets (it’s doubtful Boras was trying to pull a fast one). It’s possible the Mets didn’t pay attention to the red flags because they didn’t expect him to drop that far. Just conjecture on my part, though it’s curious the Mets are having misgivings about Rocker after that fact (and after a Mets physical). Did they drop the ball regarding due diligence?
Gotta wonder how much further Rocker would have dropped had the Mets not taken him. Walker Buehler dropped all the way to 24th when the Dodgers took him due to pending Tommy John Surgery.
Here’s my hunch. Rockers camp says they don’t see anything wrong. So I think Cohen was talking with Boras on draft day about bonuses and Cohen asked if he’s healthy. Boras said yes, and they agreed to a number the Mets could swing. Mets didn’t look at medicals until his team did the physical
Or it is like they said, it was not known until after draft day, and then he refused the MRI throwing up a huge red flag
@CeyHey, Shame on the Mets for not paying attention to any of the “warning signs” and not drafting someone else..I say this as a loooong time Mets fan.
They will draft someone else next year with pick #11… a lot of folks around here don’t seem to understand how these things work
Sure, that’s a consolation, but it affected the rest of their draft. The Mets second round pick was a way below slot sign. In fact, the entire rest of their draft was at or below slot so they missed out on opportunities the rest of the draft.
Except they reserved $1.3M over slot to sign him. They did not have the foresight to draft a highly regarded HS senior in the late rounds who they could have signed with the $1.3M. And THAT is how things work out when other teams don’t sign their top picks.
Sounds as if someone is about to get rocked!
its why he kept dropping down to #10. Scouts from other team knew something about his health
Mets knew; they’re just trying to reduce the signing bonus.
Smartest comment here.
I think they hired Jared Porter knowing about his issues too.
Interim GM’s are a couple million cheaper than a regular one.
It’s about getting a deal but not looking cheap.
Even if with a new owner, the Mets are cheap.
How are they doing with their cap space? Will this affect another signing if they can’t sign Rocker like it did Jacob Nix when the Astros couldn’t sign Aiken?
I guess they’re okay since they’re going overslot with Rocker.
Makes me feel better about the Angels passing up on him.
Or the Mets could have hedged their bets and drafted a reach guy late in the draft as a Plan B in case the Rocker situation imploded. The Angels, who passed on Rocker with the pick directly in front of the Mets, selected high-school southpaw Mason Albright in the 12th round and gave him a signing bonus of $1.25 million, a record for that round, to forego his commitment to Virginia Tech. The Mets, who had budgeted $6 million for Rocker, left over $1.3 million of their $9.02 million pool unspent, as first reported by ESPN, because they signed the rest of their selections to under-slot figures.
Honestly, Tommy John surgery is a normal thing for elite pitching prospects these days. Almost downright expected, regardless of the theories behind why that’s the case. The Mets got lucky he dropped to 10, probably on velocity inconsistencies, and I don’t see any reason a team would expect an elite player to return from TJ and continue to be dominant.
Better it happens now than 2 years from now when he’s expected to be part of the rotation.
It could also be a chronic problem
TJ is the good scenario for him. Guys get drafted very high all the time even while rehabbing from it. I’d be worried it’s a shoulder.
Ranger fans are getting concerned about Leiter also
Surprise Surprise Mets fubared this with their crack medical team and FO
Medical team had no roll in drafting him. No medical records were available prior to the draft.
@Robrock30 –
You’re clearly running your mouth without even knowing who comprises that medical team, which teaching hospital they’re affiliated with and whether other teams and athletes also seek them out for opinions.
If Rocker does have an elbow issue it would be wise for him to sign. If he does not he might need surgery and not be able to pitch for 18 months. Better to take a somewhat reduced signing bonus and get TJ surgery – assuming it’s his UCL.
Man, the Mets can’t catch a break. Even the Pitchers who haven’t even signed with them yet are getting injured
Injured already??? Does he think the Yankees signed him.
How about this being a preemptive move in dealing with any future Boras clients? The elbow is not as bad as they say, but money can be negotiated over another player’s contract?
Harold would have been a better pick than Kumar
It wouldn’t really be terrible for the Mets to get the pick again next year. Rocker was overslot so they aren’t losing other signings and they can get the pick again next year.
On the other hand at this point saving dollars won’t help the Mets much because they probably have used all the money already.
That means the question is whether you want a possibly compromised rocker or if you want the same Pick again next year.
Yes, this. Most here don’t seem to understand how these things work. Thanks for bringing some sense to the conversation.
Sure they sign the rest of the draft but that’s a big overslot number that influenced who they took based upon signability and dollars available in this years draft.
This is a huge gamble by Rocker. If he does indeed need TJS, his entire 3rd year gets wiped out and he probably doesn’t enter the draft until his age 22 season, at which point the MLB team has all the leverage in signing bonus amounts. He really should take the money and rehab on the Mets dime, rather than risk getting hurt in college and watch his prospect rankings tank.
He will probably go to Japan like Carter Stewart
Guys with the last name Rocker and the city of New York just do not get along.
Weird…players don’t usually get hurt until after they sign with the Mets lol
“Rocker’s elbow doesn’t want to be part of something special.”
He’ll sign.
No, he really won’t. This happens a lot.
Now it makes sense to me why the Angels passed on him with Pick # 9.
People say stupid Mets but people said that about the Astros when they lowballed Aiken and then They got the pick back next year and got bregman while Aiken did not sign and busted.
Maybe it is good to get the pick back next year if you don’t believe in rocker’s health, especially since it was an overslot pick anyway so losing that pool money shouldn’t affect the other signings. The Aiken deal was different because I think it was planned under slot so they were missing the extra money from that slot to sign their next guy.
Obviously rocker could turn into Verlander but he could also blow out and the Mets get a better player with the 12th pick next year.
This is also not about saving money, because they already have the other deals in place so they can’t really use the saved money. That means the Mets actually don’t want him to take the low ball offer
The Astros getting Bregman should have absolutely nothing to do with their failure to sign Aiken. That is just them getting lucky after their spectacular failure. They made lemonade out of lemons, but that doesn’t excuse them for buying lemons instead of apples in the first place.
How was it a spectacular failure? Teams don’t see those medical until after they drafted him. No team knew the issue.
Are suggesting letting Aiken go was a mistake? It was bloody brilliant, and they took a lot of heat from know-nothings then as well.
“Spectacular failure”? They didn’t like how his UCL looked, offered $5 mil instead of $6.5, and he declined. A year later he was having TJ on that same UCL.
That’s not a failure, instead that is a success. The only failure was Aiken not taking the money.
@hiflew, Bregman was the compensation pick for not signing Aiken, so you’re just flat out wrong.
Yes I know, but my point that no matter if they chose Bregman or the biggest ever it wouldn’t change whether or not failing to sign their #1 overall pick was a failure. It WAS a failure. It doesn’t matter that they were correct in hindsight. It doesn’t matter that their compensation pick turned out good. All that matter is they failed with their #1 pick overall. Having good results after a failure does not erase a failure.
You need to understand the definition of failure. Signing him for 6 million, 4.5 million or $10 dollars would have been a failure. He has never made it to the majors, don’t even think he is playing currently.
Everything about that situation turned out to a success for the Astros.
The failures fall on Aiken and the Indians.
And then received number one pick production from the number 2 pick the next season, as a result of not signing a hurt player. Bregman has put up numbers many first picks would like to have. Take your L on this one, hiflew.
But they purposely didn’t sign him, they thought a 2nd pick next year is more valuable than a compromised first overall pick.
It’s not a win or a loss, it is a difference of opinion. Just because you think differently does not mean I lose. I still believe the Astros failed. You may think differently. It doesn’t make either one of us right or wrong. None of these arguments are facts anyway. It’s all opinion and opinions can never be wrong.
But there are facts on this, and plenty of them. We aren’t discussing our favorite color, that would be an opinion.
They won, you lost.
Not to mention 1-2 and 1-11 are extremely different likelihood’s to have superstar talent
Wow if he doesn’t sign, will this Rocker be more hated by current Mets fans than John?
As a Mets fan, John is still way more hated. Draft picks not signing happens, and if he’s actually hurt bad or requires TJ, this will eventually be forgotten. John Rocker will always be hated, however.
No.
At this moment, the Mets fans ire will be directed toward Sandy Alderson and Zack Scott. That could change if Rocker suffers an elbow blowout but it will look real bad for the aforementioned front office if Rocker stays healthy.
wow, that’s seismic
Everything’s coming up Mets
Alderson and the Mets be a mettin’. Embarrassing head scratcher always right around the corner.
To be fair, not signing a guy because of red flags is actually smart, not embarrassing.
The thing is, Boras let teams know Rocker had some elbow issues and that he would not sign at slot…. and the Mets still drafted him.
Harold bailed and Kumar is going to NIL land
We really don’t know anything about how the Mets potentially changed their offer, but they were offering way over slot at $6MM (slot is $4.74MM).
There is definitely something wrong with the elbow. 100% there is something wrong, but the question is how messed up is it? Inflammation? Scar tissue? Minor strain? That information is not going to be made available unless Rocker releases it due to HIPAA.
Rocker is taking an absolutely enormous risk by not signing. If he has a UCL strain this year and needs to undergo surgery, he stands to lose almost everything. He’s already rolled the dice before. Honestly, he seems like the person who keeps spinning the wheel even though the answer is obvious. What always happens? “Bankrupt” or “Lose a turn”
This could be a win win for the Mets and Rocker. The Mets don’t make the mistake of giving all that money to a guy with possible arm issues and Rocker goes back to Vandy and sees considerable NIL money. He plays for the most prestigious college program at the moment that is based in Nashville (one of the best on the rise big cities) and is of descent that will appeal to 3 billion people. He may get ridiculous NIL money. The QB at Alabama that has played maybe 30 snaps has already signed deals worth right around 1 million.
Vanderbilt baseball doesn’t hold a candle to Alabama football. Thats just the reality of it. He will for sure get some NIL money but only if he is actually playing and dominating like last year. Even then it won’t come close to the 6 mil the Mets were supposedly offering. Even the slot value is more money than most folks see in a lifetime. Big gamble. Hope it works out for him but it isn’t one I would take.
You think Vandy pitching and Alabama football have the same following? Hahaha Cmon
He’s not getting even 1 mil
HIPAA only applies to medical providers, insurance companies and support companies. Boras is free to tell anyone he wants. Anyone who does not belong to those three groups can do anything they want with the information if they have it,
MLB clubs are “medical providers” so the Mets are, in fact, bound the HIPAA privacy rules if they have a team doctor doing an examination or medical procedure. Scott Boras needs consent to have access to the information, but yes, once Boras has it, he could disclose the private medical information of his client against his client’s wishes. It would be the end of Boras’ career overnight if he violated the trust of his client in such an distasteful manner.
Seems like there should be a middle ground where part of the 6 million bonus gets deferred.
Not allowed
Something for Mets fans to consider:
I doubt that the new CBA will remove the compensation the Mets will get if they fail to sign Kumar. But I DO think the new CBA will allow for trading draft picks. Why?
Ratings for the coverage of this year’s draft improved dramatically; Sunday night, All Star coverage, etc. Adding the intrigue of the Mets trading their two first rounders to move up (not necessarily to #1) would only add to the interest; dramatically, IMHO.
One Scouting Director admitted he would have traded his entire draft in order to be able to take one of the players a high drafting team did. (didn’t admit who that player was). Imagine Mettsie fans debating whether to trade (for example) the #12 pick and #28 (?) pick for a higher quality draftee. I can see this site (for example) crashing from all the interest.
Worth thinking about, IMHO. Alderson’s a pretty bright guy; I’m sure he has.
too many rounds to have trades
To the contrary I would think. The NFL used to have many more rounds than it has now. There’s always some Scouting Director who wants to draft some high school kid in the later rounds that he thinks unappreciated, until one of his scouts tell him the a scout from another team has followed the player closely also. That can happen in the later rounds too.
Again, think of the interest it will draw. Friday was a big day precisely because the August 31 waiver dealing was done away with. I think the same would apply here.
I’d love draft pick trades. Right now there’s maybe a dozen picks that can be traded. To open that up would speed up a lot of rebuilds imho
I can’t lie I’m really disappointed right now, I was very excited for rocker but at the same time the Mets are good at drafting talent so I have to trust them here. People have brought up the fact they went underslot for most of their other picks and should’ve drafted a player they could’ve paid overslot in case this happened. In a situation like this could the Mets have used the 6 million for a different player or just the overslot money they have left from not sighing Kumar ?
it is dumb. he will be in majors im about 23 yers. why not just sign him and have him fixed up?
This is Mark Appel all over again. We know how that turned out because he did have TJ surgery. The Mets should have done more due diligence. They saw he slipped, jumped and now got the lion instead of the lady.
Plenty of blame to go around. Mets shouldn’t have drafted him if there were questions about his elbow. Rocket didn’t voluntarily submit an MRI, and Scott Boras is involved. This was doomed from the get go.
The fact that NYM can draft him and NOT offer him any deal (because they aren’t penalized due to him not offering his medicals to all teams pre-draft) is absurd on so many levels. It leads me to believe that they KNEW that loophole when he fell to them, and used that as a bargaining tactic when he wouldn’t go (significantly) underslot crying foul at the slightest impedance. He could either sign for what they were offering OR run the risk of sitting a year (or playing in international league) only to hope he’s drafted as high in 2022.
If MLB doesn’t allow any other MLB team to sign him, if NYM passed on him, they shouldn’t reward them by giving them the #11 pick in 2022, while also taking a year of pro-level development from Rocker (not including the financial differences from where he ends up next – though he does have the chance to get more from this by being drafted higher next year, which is possible).
So is it smarter if you sign a guy for loads of money who amounts to nothing (like most draft picks), or if you decide not to sign him in the first place?
Yeesh. Perspective? Nope, just want to bash the Mets.
It is smarter to wait until 2022, get 2 1st round picks including pick #11.
I think I was in the minority in not liking this pick right away. Not taking House or Watson who end up in our division or even Frelick, the CF the team actually needs is going to come back to be even more a disaster.
Never draft for needs especially in the first round
What? The team did not need a cf until they traded pca.
It is a no-brainer to NOT sign him.
Right now, knowing what you know, if the draft were held today, which would you pick?
A. Rocker
B. The 11th pick of the 2022 draft
Of course, it is B.
…no it’s not. He tied for the lead in Ks in the nation, with the #1 overall pick. But keep telling yourself that
His velocity dropped and there were at least enough warning signs for other teams to pass on him until he got to the mets. I don’t know what his medicals looked like, or what specifically the Mets didn’t like, so I won’t say definitively either way.
The number 1 overall pick was a catcher, so if he tied him for K’s, that wouldn’t be very impressive. I’ll assume you mean the 2 pick, but that doesn’t matter if 1 of them has injury issues and the other doesn’t. Teams draft for the future, not the past.
Pretty sure they said it was in a physical completed after draft day that the Mets saw a red flag. I think the Mets had the same info as every other team. He was expected to go between 3-6, and went 10th. That is not a lot of teams passing on him, it is really just one or two – when others had different targets in site.
Yea you draft for talent. Rocker was thought to be a #1 pick talent. He fell to 10. How much better do you expect to do, talent wise?
And big woop I mixed 1+2. The point still stands. I can’t imagine they get a higher ceiling prospect next year at 11. I doubt a potential #1 guy falls to them. Maybe I’ll be wrong
@ luc – It doesn’t matter when the Mets found the issue, my point is that other teams had questions about him from 1-9 and didn’t take him based on the information that was available pre-draft. As BMcC mentioned, he was considered to be a potential #1 talent prior to this year, but his stock dropped from that point, so it wasn’t only teams, but evaluators too, that had questions.
BMcC – Teams do not solely draft on talent, just look at how far down pitchers fall when they need surgery. It doesn’t matter how talented a player is, if they are unable to take the field. When you are looking at the future value that you think a player can provide your team, obviously you take into account health risks. So maybe the Mets won’t find someone who has as much talent at 11, but they very well could find someone they believe will provide more value.
It’s odd because Mets usually only sign players that will get hurt
@Wowwwww.. That is so true!
Scummy of the Mets to welch on a deal. All 30 teams knew about Rocker’s health issue. If the Mets had a problem with it, they shouldn’t have drafted him. If you like the player’s talent, sign him as promised and rehab him. That’s what good franchises do (the Dodgers did it with Walker Buehler). Then again, Steve Cohen has never been known for ethical business practices.
How do you know all teams were aware of his health issues? Assuming they had disclosed something, how do you know they had disclosed everything? How do you know there was no opportunity for whatever issue may have been disclosed to have been aggravated by the time the Mets evaluated him?
About Buehler didn’t for less money? That is not what Rocker and Boras wanted
Please provide source for your claim, otherwise this is just another garbage take from you.
Not a single club knew what was lurking in Rocker’s elbow because he had not had an pre-emptive MRI. Boras is known as an agent who discloses medical issues to teams in advance and, supposedly, there was no heads up for Rocker.
I remember when Walker Buehler got passed on by a bunch of teams because he had an elbow issue. Dodgers took the long view. Mets should probably do the same.
HMMM a fellow commodore, maybe this has something to say about the Vandy pitcher usage…
They do use their pitchers hard.
Buehler was Andrew Friedman’s first-ever Dodgers drafted pick. Headed for TJS but AF took him because he believed in the talent. This has a chance to come back and bite the Mets hard (as might Crow-Armstrong). Richest owner in the sport. You’d think Cohen would want to set a positive tone in how his organization treats and develops players, particularly when a deal was apparently in place. If you’re gonna mess up, do it on talented players. It’s a relative drop in the bucket if Rocker doesn’t pan out, and huge win if he does.
Seems like Cohen would have signed him, but the fact they avoided the MRI, then still wanted the higher slot money,. something isn’t right. Cohen is one of those guys that in business lives in the suer, and can smell a rat here. 6 mil isn’t anything to him, but there has to be something more behind this. And the fact he fell that far, more to the story than we are seeing. Guess we’ll know in 5 years. Seems like should have signed him unless they really believe he has a severe issue, then theyd lose the draft pick and $6mil
You leave out the fact that Buehler also signed for ~$317000.00 under slot. Only cost the Dodgers $1777500.00 to sign him. Do you really think it is the same risk to sigh a pitcher with an arm issue to a $2 million over slot contract at ~$6 million? May not even be a TJS issue. Even if it was, No guarantee that the pitcher comes out as good as he was before hand. For every Buehler there is a Nick Kingham that was dominant in AAA and had TJS surgery and was never the same. Flamed out and is in Korea now.
Astros did the same with first pick Brady Aiken. In the end, they were right in doing so. His arm was damaged and their were warning signs. Know the story well because of close connections to the negotiations. As much as I hate the Astros, they also changed the business of signing draftees
Plus their blatant tanking led to enough of a draft haul they were able to put together a championship squad, garbage cans, buzzers and all…
Just another example of why uniform, required pre-draft medical examinations must be mandatory in the next CBA for any player to be draft eligible. Rocker didn’t want to submit to an MRI pre-draft and we have a pretty good idea why that decision was made. Everybody loses w/ the current hide the ball pre-draft medical disclosure rules.
We don’t have a good idea, one side is saying severe issues, the other is saying there are no issues. That is what we know, why should every pitcher have to submit an MRI?
Does this mean that the Mets would get a compensatory pick AND their normal 1st round pick next year? This definitely sucks but picking twice within the first 30 picks would be nice.
Yes
Yes and with a Conforto comp pick they possibly pick five times in the first 115 next year.
After the year he’s had, he could possibly accept the QO.
He probably would accept it.
Rocker should google Matt Harrington see how that worked out for him.
Sign for slot money now, make it to the big leagues the 2 million or so you losing now will get repaid plus interest if you are as good as everyone thinks you can be.
Don’t know If I agree with the draft compensation rule. So If you can’t sign your pick by the deadline, then you get the same draft slot next year? So teams can use this to their advantage. And wouldn’t this rule hurt other teams that could’ve moved up a slot?
How does this a team gain an advantage from this? They’re losing a year of development on a top draft pick, pushing MLB help back by a year. And now next year, they’ll recoup the talent but be behind where they could have been.
If the draft is deeper next year then they could get a better talent at that slot, also could likely get him at his actual slot value instead of Rocker looking to get substantially above the slot. They could’ve used that extra money on other players in this years class, but they held back to overpay him. I can’t blame a team for dragging their feet on an overpay if there are any questions on the health of a pitchers arm.
It also could be a much weaker draft class. If it caused a competitive imbalance it wouldn’t happen.
Even in the Steve Cohen era, #lolMets still lives on
Boras has a reputation of telling teams about medical issues prior to the draft to prevent this.
Cohen vs Boras round 1
Huge L for the Mets.
Mets gonna Mets.
With all their money who cares? Dodgers signed Buehler knowing TJ and it’s worth the risk!
Rocker and the injured Crow-Armstrong in the same weekend. A couple of lunkhead moves by a Mets organization that really needs to be focused on the future. I’ll be rooting hard for both players.
They didn’t take Buehler with the 10th pick. I’m about as far as you can get from a mets fan, but as much as people want to hate on the Mets, if they really didn’t like what they saw, drafting a pick lower next year very well could give them better value. We’ve seen it with the Astros and Aiken.
Angel fans wanted this guy, lucky they went elsewhere
In a situation like this why isn’t Rocker a free agent? If the team did not even offer a contract why is he being forced to wait a year to re-enter the draft. If the team offers the minimum contract and the player declines then yes they have to wait but if the team does not even offer a contract then why punish the player?
That would be an interesting CBA addition…
I believe they had a contract agreed upon but pending a physical.. The results lead to the original offer not to be consummated. This has not been the first deal not to be signed and won’t be the last.
He did not submit to the pre draft medical screening. So the Mets did not need to make an offer.
If you allow players to circumvent the draft, why bother having a draft?
What do you mean by a “minimum” contract? The Mets obviously made a verbal offer below the previously-negotiated price. They probably would have been willing to sign him for the slot value, $1.3M less. Why wouldn’t they? It’s use it or lose it money.
Mets doing Mets things.
Maybe Matt Harrington can get Rocker a job at Costco.
Costco is a pretty solid place to work.
Rocker is a front-of-the-draft talent. Cohen certainly picked an odd time to close his wallet. Maybe he has his eye on a new painting?
Are they concerned he’s a TJS candidate, or is it something else? TJS shouldn’t have been a deal breaker. Teams sign pitchers all the time knowing TJS is coming, often viewing that as an opportunity to get a higher-end pitcher to fall to them in the draft. That’s what the Mets should be doing here. Perplexing.
The problem was not the potential TJS. It was the demands of Boris and his client as opposed to what the team was willing to pay. Originally the deal was over slot. We don’t know how much Rocker was still demanding and we don’t know how high thenMets were willing to risk. Apparently the gap must have been wide because they would have been trying to negotiate for a while. We also don’t know how Boros is defining healthy either. Are is independent surgeons saying that he is goo to go with minimal risk for more damage or are the saying that he could pitch but no guarantees on how long his arm would hold out. If Rocker was not willing to back off on his demands then it is not perplexing as to why there was no agreement. Not every pitcher comes out of the surgery to pitch the way he did before. Nick Kingham was dominant in AAA for the Pirates . He was talked about in the same breath as Taillon. He was on track to beat Taillon to the majors. Had TJ and was never the same. Flamed out and either in Korea or Japan now..
Mets did this with jt ginn.
Not sure why you’re assuming it’s simply a TJS issue.
Maybe they walked away simply because he refused protocols? Sends a great message by the player, doesn’t it?
@Lordd99 If it isn’t TJS the Mets were “really” concerned with, what would it be? The signing bonus? Pennywise and Pound foolish if that is the case.
TJ is not the only possible arm injury pitchers can have. In fact it’s one of the less serious ones these days. And I gotta say, the decline in his velo during this college season, but only a few mph and the slider was still fine, all suggests to me it’s a shoulder not the (reported) elbow. And that’s much, much worse. The fact that he’s now going to “work out” for a year to fix it also suggests it’s not a TJ surgery he’s avoiding, but something more like a labrum that’s wearing out.
I think he’s got both, and the Mets are right to run the other way. Sucks for the kid, but that’s how it goes.
Typical Met backfire!!!!!
Reminiscent of the Brady Aiken situation with Houston. Everyone freaked out but their caution ends up being the right move; Aiken is a dud due to multiple injuries and the comp pick they got in the next draft was used for Alex Bregman.
So glad the Angels passed up on Rocker. However, I’ll admit to being perplexed at the time on why they didn’t draft him.
His arm could’ve been cut off and Boras would have said he was perfectly healthy
Had I known he was a Boras client I wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic. Mets should just pass on his clients like we’re going to let Conforto go free agency
I dont care who you are, if you refuse something that is as procedural as a physical in sports then that raises a red flag. I’m happy we stood our ground and walked away.
I am not going to complain about the pick either as we went for the best talent available and were willing to pay the premium for it. Win some lose some. I’m good, next…
Should have hedged your bets in the later rounds with some high school kids with college commits. General managing 101. Wasted an entire Draft year
Bonus slots later are so small that any high school kid with 1/2 a brain would not sign foregoing schooling and a chance to cash in on their next draft. General Managing 101.
That’s why they linger or go undrafted and in round 20 there are talented players undrafted who would command a signing bonus of let’s say $800k like the Mets had available and went unspent.
“Bonus slots later are so small that any high school kid with 1/2 a brain would not sign” You’re missing the point. The Mets had $1.3M overslot money reserved for Rocker. That money now has nowhere to go. The Mets could have offered a HS kid $1.3M+$125K= $1.425M. Nice chunk of change. THAT is General Managing 101, in actuality, my friend. You must have slept through that lecture.
See what the Pirates did. They passed on 3 other guys that were looking for at or above slot for the #1 pick. None of the top 5 guys were rated much differently than the others.. Pirates took a guy who would accept under slot and got 4 HS players with the next 4 picks who all had scholarships on the table. They were able to go over slot with all 4 and all signed.. Also had a later round pick in Braylon Bishop who had a scholarship on the table who signed for just shy of $144000 over slot. They happen.
I don’t really like the rule that they then get the number 11 pick next year. Them again, I don’t think there should be a draft at all and players should be able to sign with whatever org is best for them for any amount they wish.
From rockers side, if he was offered 3-4 million, he probably should have been mad but taken it. Now, he is one year further away from the majors, arbitration, etc. He would make it up long term.
Rocker the rocket.
though it isn’t yet known whether the dispute between the two sides could result in Rocket not being signed whatsoever………….
Steve Cohen cheapin’ out.
They offered him well over the slot value, so I don’t blame them for wanting a thorough examination. Rocker also refused the league exam. This is not being cheap, it’s being smart.
Exactly. They had an over slot deal agreed upon so it is not a question of being cheap. If there are legitimate concerns with the health of his arm, there is no way that a team would our should keep the original offer on the table. None of us have seen the medical reports. Obviously, if the team was willing to pay the kid over slot, there had to have been a significant issue with his throwing arm that caused them to want to pull the offer and renegotiate.
So whatever it was it had the Mets completely walk away from Rocker, they didn’t even offer him a deal for lesser money.
Must be bad to not even make an offer.
They were trying to re-negotiate, meaning they were making other offers. Rocker didn’t want to re-negotiate. Rocker decided to risk $6MM on the chance he won’t blow out his elbow next year.
Rocker refused the league physical, as a result the Mets weren’t required to make him an offer to get the compensatory pick so they didn’t.
I’m so much a halfwit. Listening to a bunch armchair GMs who think they know better than a whole organization doing their own due diligence. I guess that’s the hive mind of MLBTR at work ready to $hit on any decision the Angels make.
I mean, with his mechanic and velo, you had to know that an arm injury was at a high risk when you drafted him. And given that there are mixed conclusions on the health of his arm, I don’t see how you don’t land on a deal. Braves went over this same issue with Carter Stewart a couple years ago. If memory serves me right, he ultimately ended up find. I could be wrong though. I haven’t exact followed him since then
So maybe the Rocker situation isn’t the Mets’ fault, but why didn’t they select an insurance pick on day 3 to account for the $800k that went unspent? Added to the $125k you can spend on day 3, that’s a $925k pick that is worth more than the highest sign they had in the draft ($910k on Ziegler). The Blue Jays went underslot with their first pick but still selected an insurance pick in round 20 in case things didn’t work out elsewhere in the draft. If you are going overslot by a lot in round 1, shouldn’t you insure yourself a bit on day 3?
So you’re saying that in the 20th round, they were going to find someone who was worth overpaying for? Wouldn’t someone that good have been picked earlier? And they only came to the conclusion that they were not going to sign him at the last minute. And would that last pick have had to wait until the last minute to see how much the team could afford to give him?
You pick a couple of high school kids in the middle of the last round like the Pirates did. The picked Corona and Bishop who had scholarship offers. They had extra money left and were able to get Bishop. Not enough extra money for Corona so he is going to school. Many teams make such picks
Yep. Look at who went undrafted. There were several guys that some of the publications thought were better than the Mets’ second round pick who signed for $910k. It was a deep high school class and once those guys fall beyond where their price tag is they just fall to day 3 because you don’t want to pick them on day 2 when you need to make the most of those picks on guys you know you can sign. On day 3, you take your insurance picks with the leftover talent. D’Backs took a bunch of highly regarded high schoolers on day 3 that obviously went unsigned, but had they had a Rocker situation, they would have had money to sign them. Look at most other team’s unsigned day 3 picks. Most especially when you are making a well overslot pick somewhere, you should have a backup plan.
So the simple fact that he won’t return to college implies a LOT.
A. Doesn’t want an education
B. Doesn’t believe enough in his own abilities to raise his value
C. Doesn’t want to help his team
D. Doesn’t want to compete
E. Cares more about money than playing
F. Probably feels his elbow wouldn’t hold up or might blow out, costing him all kinds of draft signing money.
…all the red flags are there for every team to pass on shelling out draft round bonus money. B.U.S.T.
What’s odd is that the Mets didn’t even offer a fraction of the slot value. I guess the liked the 11th pick in next years draft more than this kids upside. Not like Rockers career is over if he does need surgery.
I do not see in this article where the Mets did not counter lower. Where have you seen this? I have not found that info anywhere else. Not saying you are wrong. Rather would love to read where you found this info.
If you know his medical issues in advance of the draft, you can offer him a below slot value and draft a guy in the 2nd or 3rd round who you’ll want to offer well above slot value to tempt out of his commitment to a college. But when you don’t know until later, your draft decisions have been made and signing Rocker below slot value would just mean not getting full value out of the year’s draft (or arbitrarily overpaying somebody). Better to just defer it so you can get full value next year.
Told Mutts fans when he was drafted he had a arm problem and no one believed me.
Braves will win division no problem.
Maybe the Mets should’ve took Gunnar….Less health concerns!!! Bwahahahaha