NEW YORK (AP) — Signing bonuses have dropped for first-round picks in this year’s amateur draft, the first under restrictive rules in baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.
Twenty-two of the 31 first-round picks last month already have signed, and their bonuses total $51.8 million, according to a review by The Associated Press. Last year, 32 of the 33 first-round selections signed for a total of $91.6 million in guaranteed money.
Because teams face penalties for exceeding specified thresholds for picks in the first 10 rounds, clubs drafted players they could sign on the cheap in order to shift the allocated money to other picks.
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University of Portland pitcher Kyle Kraus, taken by Boston in the seventh round with the 241st pick, signed for $1,000.
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