Despite nearly every negotiation going down to the wire last night all but one first-round pick ultimately ended up signing, with No. 21 overall pick Tyler Beede turning down the Blue Jays’ offer to attend Vanderbilt.
And according to Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star the two sides weren’t even particularly close, with the Blue Jays offering $2.5 million and Beede seeking $3.5 million. MLB’s recommended “slot” bonus for the 21st pick is $1.3 million.
Now the 18-year-old pitcher from Massachusetts won’t be eligible to be drafted again until 2014 and Toronto will receive the No. 22 overall pick in next year’s draft as compensation for not signing Beede, which general manager Alex Anthopoulos admitted played a big part in the negotiations.
In the meantime the Blue Jays used some of the money that may have gone to Beede to give significantly above-slot signing bonuses to supplemental first-round pick Kevin Comer, second-round pick Daniel Norris, and 13th-round pick Matt Dean. That trio signed for a $4.4 million.
