Jim Callis from MLB Pipeline announced the signing bonus for fifth round pick Grant Ford. The Pittsburgh Pirates gave the right-handed pitcher $422,500 to sign, which is $79,100 over the slot value for that pick. Here is Ford’s player page.
5th-rder Grant Ford signs with @Pirates for $422,500 (pick 154 value = $343,400). Nevada RHP, reliever with mid-90s fastball and power slider. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 14, 2019
The Pirates saved money on their first round, second round, third round and tenth round picks, but they have now gone over slot for Ford and seventh rounder Blake Sabol. Our draft tracker has been updated, now showing that they are down to $307,000 saved. When combined with the 5% teams are allowed to go over their bonus pool without losing a draft pick (they have to pay a tax on the overage), the Pirates now have $804,200 to spend on over-slot deals. That last number is assuming that the Pirates sign all of their top ten round picks.
We are still waiting to hear the signing bonus for eighth round pick Austin Roberts. If that’s announced today, we will post an update here. Expect more draft signings to be announced tonight.
