Who's still unsigned as 5 ET deadline nears?
With the clock ticking toward today's 5 p.m. ET Draft signing deadline, No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson has yet to appear at a news conference with a smile on his face and a D-backs jersey on his back. But don't expect a repeat of 2014, when Brady Aiken became just the third top choice in 50 Drafts not to sign.
Aiken famously failed a post-Draft physical after agreeing to a $6.5 million bonus from the Astros, and the two sides couldn't work out a renegotiated deal. With Swanson and Arizona, it's just a matter of how much money he'll receive.
Swanson should blow by 2015's current top Draft bonus, which is the $5.9 million that the Astros paid No. 2 overall choice Alex Bregman. Swanson also should fall well short of the assigned value for the top slot, which is $8,616,900. To put that amount in perspective, the highest bonus in Draft history is the $8 million the Pirates paid No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole in 2011, the last year before the bonus-pool system came into play.
The D-backs, who have the third-highest pool at $12,816,100, may have a hard time spending whatever money they save on Swanson. Arizona's top candidates for over-slot payments were high school right-handers and potential third-round talents Wesley Rodriguez (12th round) and Bryan Hoeing (32nd round), but they both have an injured elbow and may require Tommy John surgery.
Video: ARI@LAD: Swanson shares story of being drafted No. 1
MLBPipeline.com is tracking all signings and bonuses from the first 10 rounds of the Draft here. Just 10 of the 315 players taken in those rounds have yet to sign or agree to terms, including seven chosen in the top two rounds.
The Dodgers entered the day with a pair of unsigned first-rounders in Vanderbilt right-hander Walker Buehler (No. 24 overall) and Louisville righty Kyle Funkhouser (No. 35), and they didn't have much flexibility to pay them more than their assigned values of $2,094,400 and $1,756,100. Los Angeles had outspent its pool by $229,700, with its allocated total of $7,781,700 providing just $389,005 of wiggle room below the 5 percent threshold (overspending by any more than that would trigger the loss of a future first-round selection).
On Friday afternoon, a source told MLB.com's Jim Callis that the Dodgers had agreed to an under-slot deal with Buehler. But earlier in the day, Funkhouser tweeted that he wasn't going to sign and would return for his senior season at Louisville.
The Dodgers also agreed to a slightly under-slot deal with Florida International first baseman Edwin Rios, a sixth-rounder with a slot value of $234,800. According to Callis, Rios agreed to a deal for $225,000.
Also late Friday afternoon, left-hander Nathan Kirby (supplemental first round) tweeted that he was officially a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. According to Callis, Kirby initially had an over-slot deal after his College World Series heroics, but he ultimately agreed to a deal worth $1.25 million when medical issues arose. His pick value at No. 40 was $1,545,400.
Two right-handers are at stalemates with the club that drafted them: Eustis (Fla.) High's Brady Singer with the Blue Jays in the second round and Kentucky's Kyle Cody with the Twins in the supplemental second round. Singer, a right-hander with an assigned value of $1,091,200 at No. 56, appears to be the more likely of the two to sign. Cody's value at No. 73 is $839,700.
Flowery Branch (Ga.) High's Jonathan Hughes, the Orioles' second-round pick, announced on Friday that he intends to attend Georgia Tech rather than signing with Baltimore. The right-hander's assigned value at No. 68 was $907,000.