Jim Callis of Baseball America reports the Pittsburgh Pirates gave fifth round pick Trae Arbet a $425,000 bonus. That’s $103,600 over the $321,400 slot price for the fifth round.
#Pirates 5th-rder Trae Arbet's bonus is $425k. California HS SS, VG athlete & defender, solid runner, could be avg bat. #mlbdraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 15, 2013
The Pirates already saved some slot money by signing fourth round pick Cody Dickson to a below-slot deal, but they will need to come up with $49,400 to make up for Arbet. They could also go up to 5% over the draft pool without losing future draft picks and only getting taxed on the overage. If they go that route, they’d have $385,945 to spend on more over-slot picks.
Arbet is a prep shortstop who is very athletic and has good defensive skills. Scouts are divided on whether he can stick at shortstop over the long-term, although the Pirates must like his chances if they went over-slot on him. His range and arm aren’t great, but could be good enough to stick at short. He’s got the potential to provide an average bat. Scouts also like his attitude toward the game, and feel he will keep improving as a result of that attitude.
We learned yesterday that Arbet signed, along with second round pick Blake Taylor and tenth rounder Shane Carle. We don’t know the bonuses for those two picks yet. Slot for Taylor is $1,065,400, while slot for Carle is $135,600.
The Draft Pick Signing Tracker has been updated with the bonus information.
