Two days ago, the Cincinnati Reds signed seven new draft picks. Today, the team adds to it by signing two more players with a 12th round pick. Auburn’s Will Cannon and South Carolina Upstate’s Trent Hodgdon, both right-handed pitchers, were selected in the 17th round. Update (3:35pm) The Reds signed two more players today: Luke Holman, a right-handed pitcher from LSU, and Tristan Smith, a left-handed pitcher from Clemson.
With these four signings, Cincinnati has signed 15 of their 21 Major League Baseball draft picks for 2024. They are still attempting to bring in second-rounders. Tyson Lewis, 11th round pick; Edgar Colon, 14th round pick. Adrian Areizaga (18th round)
Jalen Hairston was selected, followed by Owen Pote in the 19th round and Mason Russell in the 20th round. Some of them appear more likely than others. Since tying bonus pools and slot values to picks, the Reds have never failed to sign a player in the top ten rounds. Teams know going into the draft whether or not they can practically ensure signing the player they select in the top ten rounds. Tyson Lewis’ signing is quite likely.
The players selected after the tenth round get more dicey. They can only sign for up to $150,000 before any of their bonuses are applied to the draft pool. Cincinnati has some “extra” money, correct? They could now apply to those players if they want to sign more than that, although they may have reserved that for unsigned players in the first ten rounds. We don’t know what bonuses Luke Holman, Tristan Smith, Will Cannon, and Trent Hodgdon signed yet, but we do know what everyone else signed. As of right moment, the team has signed its group for $752,100 under slot. Furthermore, they can spend up to 5% more than their pool allowance before forfeiting their first-round pick the following year. That leaves them with plenty of money to try to sign several of the unsigned players.
Leave a Reply