When the Red Sox drafted Nick Yorke with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, reports quickly followed that the 18-year-old would sign for a below-slot deal.
Those reports proved accurate Tuesday, as the infielder put pen to paper on his new contract at Fenway Park.
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Instead of the $3.61 million slotted by MLB for the No. 17 pick, Yorke received $2.7 million, per MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis. The discount makes sense, with Yorke ranked as the No.139 prospect ahead of the draft, though the Red Sox believed he would have jumped up into the first round had there been a full high school season instead of only five games before the season was suspended.
Yorke's agency, Apex Baseball, documented the signing on Instagram, and Yorke quickly followed with his own post.
The Sox are high on Yorke's offense, with Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom raving about his "special bat" after the Draft and Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin praising Yorke as "the best hitter in high school baseball." Yorke hit .503 in his final three high school seasons, and had gone .533 this year before the season was put on pause.
With Yorke's signing, the Red Sox have locked up their first two picks from this year's Draft. While Yorke signed for about a million below his slot, Boston signed third-round pick Blaze Jordan to a deal about a million over the slotted value for the No. 89 pick.
FINAL SCORE: Boston Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 3
IN BRIEF: Alex Verdugo homered twice and Mitch Moreland added one of his own in the Red Sox' win over the Blue Jays on Friday night. The Red Sox capitalized on a woeful outing from Blue Jays starter Tanner Roark, who walked five batters and allowed four runs in three innings pitched.
Sox starter Ryan Weber allowed two runs in three innings, then the bullpen put together an admirable effort to preserve the lead.
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BOX SCORE
RED SOX RECORD: 5-8
HIGHLIGHTS
Well, that escalated quickly
Verdugo's first Fenway homer
Moreland's two-run shot
Vlad Jr. brings Jays within one
Homer No. 2 for Verdugo...
...and then he robs one!
UP NEXT
vs. Blue Jays, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., NESN
vs. Blue Jays, Sunday, 1:35 p.m., NESN
Dustin Pedroia may not be with his teammates this season, but that doesn't mean he can't watch over them with an iron glare from the best seats in the house.
Red Sox players asked if cutouts of family members could be placed in the box seats behind the home dugout, and the first row includes quite the intimidating image -- Pedroia and his three sons staring at the field, arms folded sternly.
From left to right, Cole, 7, Dylan, 11, and Brooks, 6, mimic their father's pose. All four were fixtures at Fenway Park in recent years before injuries took their toll and effectively ended Pedroia's career.
(Photo via Barry Alley)
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Until being injured on a questionable slide by Manny Machado in 2017, Pedroia was on his way to making a borderline Hall of Fame case for himself. The former Rookie of the Year and MVP played an integral part in two World Series championships, and also earned a ring after appearing in three games for the 2018 club.
The four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover went just 2-for-20 in six games last year before shutting it down, probably for good. His six-year, $85 million extension expires after next season.
Even if his Red Sox career is over, his impact on the franchise is not, which is why his teammates have chosen to honor him in a way that perfectly suits his bleep-talking, larger-than-life personality -- by glowering at them like he's about to hurl an insult.
Xander Bogaerts poses next to cardboard cutouts of his mom, Sandra Brown, and his uncle, Glenroy Brown (Photo via Barry Alley).
