The Pirates have caught on. Apparently so have the Royals, after awarding the highest bonus ever for a 4th round pick today. Maybe the Reds are just a couple years behind the curve set by these teams? By the time the Reds catch on, the CBA will be amended to preclude this type of small-market creativity.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=1486
And please spare me the Tucker Barnhardt example. If we ever want to compete, we have to start taking chances on first round talents who slide, and pay them over slot to get them signed. I'm talking seven figure-type players. I liked the Sulbaran pick last year, but the Reds did very little to follow up this year.
If the Reds were to draft three such players every year and give them what they needed to sign (usually ~$1MM), and only one of them turned out to be an average major leaguer- it would make for a great ROI. The problem is, I'm not sure guys like Chris Buckley even know what ROI means. He's too busy staffing the minor league system for depth.
(As an aside, gotta love the message this sends to Aaron Crow, who has reportedly turned down the Royals' $3MM offer. If you don't take it, we'll give it to somebody else. Have fun with Matt Harrington!)
EDIT: Add the Orioles to the mix now as well.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/0...r-for-1mm.html