The Reds signed first-round draft pick Hunter Greene on Friday afternoon, cutting it close as the deal was struck just minutes prior to the 5 PM deadline. Greene, a 17-year-old right-hander, was projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the months leading up to the 2017 draft and ultimately landed in the No. 2 slot as the Reds’ first pick. Per MLB.com’s Jim Callis, the high school righty is expected to take home a bonus of $7.23 million, the “highest bonus ever in [the] bonus pool era.”
Had the team failed to reach a deal with Greene, they would have received the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Reds’ general manager Dick Williams spoke to the stressful situation, telling MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, “It was just tough because there was a lot at stake. What made going through today a little easier was knowing that Bob Castellini, Walt Jocketty, my staff, Chris Buckley, we were all a united front on where we wanted to go with this negotiation. That made it easy.”
While Williams said his team would have been at peace regardless of the outcome, it was clear they netted a special talent in Greene. The Notre Dame High School alumnus has the high-octane fastball and developing breaking balls necessary to hold a spot in the rotation, and boasts impressive skills at short as well. The club has yet to announce Greene’s next move, but Sheldon adds that the right-hander will likely be assigned to either the Arizona League Reds or rookie-ball Billings Mustangs.