The Rays made the most noise on a mostly quiet Draft Signing Deadline day, landing a pair of high school players for $1,595,000 before Monday's 5 p.m. ET cutoff.
Dana Hills HS (Dana Point, Calif.) right-hander Gavin Giese signed with Tampa Bay for $997,500, slightly above his assigned pick value of $958,500 at No. 85 in the third round. The son of former big leaguer Dan Giese, he features a high-spin fastball that sits at 93-94 mph and also sports a promising low-80s changeup.
Clovis (Calif.) HS right-hander Logan Georges joined the Rays for $597,500, of which $447,500 will count against their bonus pool. The 11th-rounder works with a lively 92-96 mph fastball and flashes a plus slider in the low 80s.
2026 MLB DRAFT PRESENTED BY NIPPON EXPRESS
• Signing/Bonus tracker | Who signed? | On the fast track | Favorite picks
• Best hauls | Biggest steals | Top storylines | Top tools | Famous names
• Pick-by-pick analysis: Day 1 | Day 2 | Top 250 | Bonus pools, pick values
• Every No. 1 pick | MLB Develops alumni | Best picks in past 10 years
• Draft Tracker | Order | Best by state | Final mock | Complete coverage
Only two players in the first 10 rounds didn't come to terms with the clubs that selected them: Guardians second-rounder Logan Schmidt and Brewers fifth-rounder Aidan Knaak.
A left-hander from Ganesha HS (Pomona, Calif.), Schmidt announced on social media Sunday that he wouldn't turn pro. Cleveland drafted him at No. 59 (assigned value of $1,598,900) and given the money remaining in its bonus pool at the end, could offer him no more than $1,678,845 without forfeiting a future first-round selection. Clemson was able to bring right-hander Knaak back for his senior season with a strong NIL offer.
The Guardians will receive the No. 60 choice in the 2027 Draft as compensation for failure to land Schmidt. Ranked No. 45 on MLB Pipeline's Draft Top 250, Schmidt has a commitment to Louisiana State. He also could attend a junior college, which would make him eligible for next year's Draft.
In the past four Drafts, just one player selected in the top 60 picks has failed to turn pro. Last year, the Pirates drafted Warren HS (Downey, Calif.) right-hander Angel Cervantes at No. 50 but were unwilling to meet his stated asking price by exceeding their pool, something they did in seven of the first 10 Drafts after these rules came into play in 2012 but haven't done since 2021. He opted to attend UCLA.
Teams can outspend their bonus pools by up to 5 percent by paying a 75 percent penalty tax on their overage. Eclipsing it by more than that amount would result in the loss of at least one future first-round pick. All bonuses in the first 10 rounds count toward the pool, as does any amount over $150,000 for individual bonuses in rounds 11-20.
The Brewers and Pirates each signed two players in double-digit rounds to deals for more than that amount on Monday. Milwaukee landed Mankato (Minn.) East HS outfielder Carson Hart (13th) for $380,000 and Mountain Vista HS (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) right-hander Keaton Maiorana (15th) for $230,800. Pittsburgh inked San Diego State right-hander Rohan Lettow (12th) for $157,500 and Heart Lake SS (Brampton, Ontario) righty Damarcus Rideout-Carter (14th) for $211,300.
All told, the industry spent $402,481,143 on signing bonuses for drafted players, breaking the record of $392,533,711 set last year. The 25 first-round picks averaged $5,517,811, eclipsing the mark of $5,334,019 established in 2025.
The three highest Draft bonuses ever were paid out to the top three selections: $10,347,500 to Roch Cholowsky (No. 1, White Sox), $9,747,500 to Grady Emerson (No. 2, Rays) and $9,497,500 to Vahn Lackey (No. 3, Rays). Chase Burns and Charlie Condon, the second and third choices in the 2024 Draft, shared the previous standard of $9.25 million.
The White Sox set a record for team spending at $22,670,200, surpassing the $21,150,840 the Orioles paid last year. Club-by-club spending is below:
White Sox: $22,670,200
Rays: $21,104,765
Giants: $19,263,130
Twins: $18,208,700
Braves: $17,748,875
Cardinals: $17,625,400
Rockies: $17,405,600
Royals: $17,266,975
Pirates: $17,108,300
Astros: $15,498,334
Athletics: $15,459,300
Orioles: $14,864,700
Diamondbacks: $14,062,500
Nationals: $14,016,100
Angels: $13,309,100
Marlins: $13,185,100
Reds: $12,415,000
Rangers: $11,725,875
Cubs: $11,336,400
Padres: $11,175,394
Tigers: $10,573,355
Red Sox: $9,822,500
Phillies: $9,431,400
Guardians: $9,365,040
Mariners: $9,327,600
Yankees: $9,082,000
Brewers: $9,040,800
Mets: $8,181,500
Blue Jays: $6,822,725
Dodgers: $5,384,475