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Cardinals to have $7.1 million in 2014 Draft bonus pool

PITTSBURGH -- Recent figures obtained by MLB.com show that the Cardinals will receive $7.1 million of bonus pool money for the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and another $1.9 million to spend in the international market.

That latter figure is the lowest total for any of the 30 Major League clubs, the byproduct of the Cardinals having the best record in baseball last season. It covers signings from July 2 through June 15 of the following year. Players, like recent St. Louis signee Aledmys Diaz, who are at least 23 years old and have played in a professional league for at least five seasons, do not count against this pool.

There are penalties for any overage in spending, though teams can also acquire additional international bonus pool money via trade. The Cardinals did this when they dealt Mitchell Boggs to Colorado last summer.

The bonus pool money for the amateur draft will have to cover the Cardinals' 12 selections in the Draft's first 10 rounds, as well as any bonuses of more than $100,000 to a player taken later. The Cardinals' first pick will be at No. 27 overall. They were also rewarded two extra selections -- one (No. 34) because Carlos Beltran declined a qualifying offer to sign elsewhere and another (No. 71) through the competitive balance lottery.

There could still be some shuffling of the draft order if any of the still unsigned free agents who did not accept a qualifying offer sign before June. The Cardinal's bonus pool money for the amateur draft currently ranks as the 12th highest in MLB.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB.
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