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It's going to be a busy day (and night) in the Commissioner's Office, across Major League front offices and perhaps most notably, at Boras Corp headquarters.
The deadline for signing 2009 First-Year Player Draft selections is looming -- 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday is the official end point -- and there remain 13 first-round picks who have yet to come to terms with the organizations that chose them. That number shrunk with a relative flurry of activity on Saturday, with three first-rounders coming to terms.
Six of those 13 are represented by Scott Boras, who is no stranger to last-minute Draft deadline deals. The headliner is, and always has been, No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg. No one expected the right-hander, who some have called the best pitching prospect, to sign quickly and things have certainly gone according to script.
The Nationals have been public about their unwillingness to discuss negotiations publicly, but there was a recent report that managing principal owner Ted Lerner, team president Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo all went to Southern California to visit Strasburg. The Nats offered a deal worth more than Mark Prior's $10.5 million contract with the Cubs in 2001, a source told MLB.com. The Nationals believe that Strasburg can make an immediate impact in their rotation, perhaps even joining the Major League roster in September.
Still, Kasten told The Associated Press that he wasn't sure if they'd be able to agree on a deal for the right-hander. The conclusion to this will undoubtedly come right up against the deadline.
Boras represents the No. 2 and No. 3 picks as well. The Seattle Mariners were able to celebrate a bit on Saturday with the announcement of the signing of their second first-round pick, the No. 27 overall selection, Nick Franklin. But there was little to report on negotiations with the second overall pick, Dustin Ackley. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik likes to keep things close to the vest, but he did publicly try to sell his organization and his city to Ackley and any other unsigned picks.
"I don't want to talk about anything specific," Zduriencik said recently. "What I will say is there are some players we would sure love to have join this organization. We have a nice story to tell. It's a great organization headed in the right direction, you have a lot of really good things about this place, the town, the city, the community, the area of the country so I hope players recognize that. Anyone out there. We have a good story to tell here and we're looking forward to having some of the guys [drafted] in the future playing for us. But I will not comment on any individual negotiation at all."
The Padres were almost as mum on No. 3 pick Donavan Tate, whom San Diego would have to sign away from a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina. Tate was going through some drills with the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill to begin preparations for the upcoming football season, but reportedly left recently. That fueled speculation that a deal with the outfielder was imminent and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reported a $6.5 million deal was all but done. GM Kevin Towers responded to questions about the report by saying via text that it's "not a done deal. Still working on it."
No. 9 overall pick Jacob Turner is another Boras client. The Tigers took the high school right-hander, but they've been down this path before, signing Rick Porcello in the 2007 Draft. They're also looking at above-slot deals for supplemental first-rounder Andrew Oliver (another Boras client) and sixth-rounder Daniel Fields. The two remaining Boras guys are USC shortstop Grant Green, who went No. 13 overall to the Oakland A's and LeVon Washington, the speedy high schooler taken by the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 30 overall.
The Rays announced on Monday afternoon that they did not expect to reach a deal with Washington, nor their second-round pick, Kenny Diekroeger.
"We are disappointed that LeVon has chosen not to sign with the Rays," said Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. "We offered him a bonus consistent with late first-round picks. Immediately following the Draft, he seemed eager to sign, but it has not materialized. We wish LeVon great success with his baseball career."
"It's a situation for us that in an ideal world would have been completed a while ago," Friedman said over the weekend. "But the fact of the matter is, it hasn't been completed yet."
It also would be hard to lay odds on how many of the non-Boras draftees will come to terms when all is said and done. Three other high school arms -- No. 6 Zack Wheeler (Giants), No. 11 Tyler Matzek (Rockies) and No. 14 Matt Purke (Rangers) -- all seem to be in the same boat. All three players and their teams appear to have substantial gaps to overcome by the deadline to get deals done. Matzek and Purke, the two lefties, appear to be the toughest signs at this point, with Purke very possibly headed to Texas Christian University if things don't work out. His leverage includes being a Draft-eligible sophomore who could re-enter the Draft in just two years.
"[Negotiations] are where you would expect them to be. We still have a gap, a divide, to bridge," said Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who's also trying to come to terms with supplemental first-rounder Tanner Scheppers. "That's not unusual [just] days before the deadline. They have been amicable discussions.
"He agreed to submit to the physical and get that completed just to get it behind us, so we can focus on negotiations. We don't want any hurdles if we negotiate late."
Shelby Miller, taken No. 19 overall by the Cardinals, has the same agent as Purke, but things do seem a bit more optimistic on that front, with the sides not as far apart as the Rangers and Purke are. One other high school position player, Slade Heathcott, has also not formally agreed to a deal with the Yankees at No. 29, but was reported by Baseball America on Monday to have signed for $2.2 million.
There are three college pitchers still unsigned as well. No. 12 pick Aaron Crow, who didn't sign a year ago when taken by the Nationals with the ninth overall selection, hasn't been any easier of a sign in his second go-round. UNC right-hander Alex White was taken by the Indians with the 15th pick and may have been waiting for the No. 8 pick, Mike Leake, to come to terms. He did so on Saturday, so perhaps White is next in line.
Kyle Gibson, taken No. 22 by the Twins is a different issue. After revealing he had a stress fracture in his throwing arm, it's become about the medical reports for the right-hander out of Missouri. Once hopeful this could get done early, the Twins are prepared for it to go down to the wire.
With all of these unsigned selections, in the first round and beyond, the holdup is all about bonus amounts and, more specifically, the amounts for each slot recommended by the Commissioner's Office. For some, Strasburg being the most notable, any done deal will be way over that suggested slot amount.
For others, it could be a matter of a year. This year, the Commissioner's Office recommended a 10 percent cut in bonuses. Some teams were able to sign their first picks for the lower amount. But many ended up reverting back to the 2008 suggested slot bonuses to get deals done.
Whatever the reasons, with 13 unsigned first-rounders and time running out, there's no question Monday, and into the first moments of Tuesday morning, will provide more than a few nail-biting moments for teams and fans alike.
The deadline for signing 2009 First-Year Player Draft selections is looming -- 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday is the official end point -- and there remain 13 first-round picks who have yet to come to terms with the organizations that chose them. That number shrunk with a relative flurry of activity on Saturday, with three first-rounders coming to terms.
Six of those 13 are represented by Scott Boras, who is no stranger to last-minute Draft deadline deals. The headliner is, and always has been, No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg. No one expected the right-hander, who some have called the best pitching prospect, to sign quickly and things have certainly gone according to script.
The Nationals have been public about their unwillingness to discuss negotiations publicly, but there was a recent report that managing principal owner Ted Lerner, team president Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo all went to Southern California to visit Strasburg. The Nats offered a deal worth more than Mark Prior's $10.5 million contract with the Cubs in 2001, a source told MLB.com. The Nationals believe that Strasburg can make an immediate impact in their rotation, perhaps even joining the Major League roster in September.
Still, Kasten told The Associated Press that he wasn't sure if they'd be able to agree on a deal for the right-hander. The conclusion to this will undoubtedly come right up against the deadline.
Boras represents the No. 2 and No. 3 picks as well. The Seattle Mariners were able to celebrate a bit on Saturday with the announcement of the signing of their second first-round pick, the No. 27 overall selection, Nick Franklin. But there was little to report on negotiations with the second overall pick, Dustin Ackley. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik likes to keep things close to the vest, but he did publicly try to sell his organization and his city to Ackley and any other unsigned picks.
"I don't want to talk about anything specific," Zduriencik said recently. "What I will say is there are some players we would sure love to have join this organization. We have a nice story to tell. It's a great organization headed in the right direction, you have a lot of really good things about this place, the town, the city, the community, the area of the country so I hope players recognize that. Anyone out there. We have a good story to tell here and we're looking forward to having some of the guys [drafted] in the future playing for us. But I will not comment on any individual negotiation at all."
The Padres were almost as mum on No. 3 pick Donavan Tate, whom San Diego would have to sign away from a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina. Tate was going through some drills with the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill to begin preparations for the upcoming football season, but reportedly left recently. That fueled speculation that a deal with the outfielder was imminent and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reported a $6.5 million deal was all but done. GM Kevin Towers responded to questions about the report by saying via text that it's "not a done deal. Still working on it."
No. 9 overall pick Jacob Turner is another Boras client. The Tigers took the high school right-hander, but they've been down this path before, signing Rick Porcello in the 2007 Draft. They're also looking at above-slot deals for supplemental first-rounder Andrew Oliver (another Boras client) and sixth-rounder Daniel Fields. The two remaining Boras guys are USC shortstop Grant Green, who went No. 13 overall to the Oakland A's and LeVon Washington, the speedy high schooler taken by the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 30 overall.
The Rays announced on Monday afternoon that they did not expect to reach a deal with Washington, nor their second-round pick, Kenny Diekroeger.
"We are disappointed that LeVon has chosen not to sign with the Rays," said Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. "We offered him a bonus consistent with late first-round picks. Immediately following the Draft, he seemed eager to sign, but it has not materialized. We wish LeVon great success with his baseball career."
"It's a situation for us that in an ideal world would have been completed a while ago," Friedman said over the weekend. "But the fact of the matter is, it hasn't been completed yet."
It also would be hard to lay odds on how many of the non-Boras draftees will come to terms when all is said and done. Three other high school arms -- No. 6 Zack Wheeler (Giants), No. 11 Tyler Matzek (Rockies) and No. 14 Matt Purke (Rangers) -- all seem to be in the same boat. All three players and their teams appear to have substantial gaps to overcome by the deadline to get deals done. Matzek and Purke, the two lefties, appear to be the toughest signs at this point, with Purke very possibly headed to Texas Christian University if things don't work out. His leverage includes being a Draft-eligible sophomore who could re-enter the Draft in just two years.
"[Negotiations] are where you would expect them to be. We still have a gap, a divide, to bridge," said Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who's also trying to come to terms with supplemental first-rounder Tanner Scheppers. "That's not unusual [just] days before the deadline. They have been amicable discussions.
"He agreed to submit to the physical and get that completed just to get it behind us, so we can focus on negotiations. We don't want any hurdles if we negotiate late."
Shelby Miller, taken No. 19 overall by the Cardinals, has the same agent as Purke, but things do seem a bit more optimistic on that front, with the sides not as far apart as the Rangers and Purke are. One other high school position player, Slade Heathcott, has also not formally agreed to a deal with the Yankees at No. 29, but was reported by Baseball America on Monday to have signed for $2.2 million.
There are three college pitchers still unsigned as well. No. 12 pick Aaron Crow, who didn't sign a year ago when taken by the Nationals with the ninth overall selection, hasn't been any easier of a sign in his second go-round. UNC right-hander Alex White was taken by the Indians with the 15th pick and may have been waiting for the No. 8 pick, Mike Leake, to come to terms. He did so on Saturday, so perhaps White is next in line.
Kyle Gibson, taken No. 22 by the Twins is a different issue. After revealing he had a stress fracture in his throwing arm, it's become about the medical reports for the right-hander out of Missouri. Once hopeful this could get done early, the Twins are prepared for it to go down to the wire.
With all of these unsigned selections, in the first round and beyond, the holdup is all about bonus amounts and, more specifically, the amounts for each slot recommended by the Commissioner's Office. For some, Strasburg being the most notable, any done deal will be way over that suggested slot amount.
For others, it could be a matter of a year. This year, the Commissioner's Office recommended a 10 percent cut in bonuses. Some teams were able to sign their first picks for the lower amount. But many ended up reverting back to the 2008 suggested slot bonuses to get deals done.
Whatever the reasons, with 13 unsigned first-rounders and time running out, there's no question Monday, and into the first moments of Tuesday morning, will provide more than a few nail-biting moments for teams and fans alike.
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