Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitz Dorsey
Does anyone have any insight on what the holdup is with those two? Is Boyd considering returning to Oregon State for his senior season? Does Ortiz have some type of leverage I'm not aware of? I would think as a high school kid from Puerto Rico he would be looking forward to signing.
Oh well, no need to sweat the small stuff. Not only did the Reds have what looks to be a great draft, they backed it up by signing their top 14 picks (and many more). And they still have almost 3 weeks to sign Boyd, Ortiz and the other remaining unsigned picks.
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My guess is that they and the club have been waiting to see how much of the bonus pot remains and what room that gives them for some added amount. For instance, as I noted earlier here, the club could decide that they're willing to pay the penalty going up to some amount to sign these other draftees.
Someone note, probably correctly, that while Boyd has the option of returning to school, it does not guarantee that he'll move up in the draft, the only place where he'll up his price tag. But maybe he can get double the $100K slot money (we gave Kivel five times his slot, as one example). As for Ortiz, the only thing I can find on him is that we drafted him and he's considered one of the top catching prospects. No info on where he's committed for college. I would assume he has, if for no other reason than to have some leverage.
My guess is these two will sign at higher than the stated slot money. If the running total is correct, we're about $92K shy of the cap and then we're paying 75% on every extra dollar. Given the amounts we paid in late round bonuses last year, I suspect we could choose to move into that range up to 5% and pay that price.