The Yankees signed eighth rounder Georgia Tech OF Brandon Thomas to a below-slot bonus on Friday, now here are some more updates on various other draft deals (draft round in parenthesis):
- Both California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) and California HS 2B Gosuke Katoh (2) worked out with the Yankees before last night’s game. Doesn’t mean they’re close to signing; high picks typically come in for a dog and pony show soon after the draft.
- Fresno State OF Aaron Judge (1s) is still negotiating with the team, according to K. Levine-Flandrup. He’s slotted for just under $1.68M, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was under contract by this time next week. Hard to think this will be a prolonged negotiation.
- Howard JuCo RHP David Palladino (5) signed for $371k, reports KL-F. He agreed to terms earlier this week. The big (listed at 6-foot-9) righty was slotted for just about $278k, so he got almost a hundred grand over-slot. Good for him. They must really like his arm.
- Texas HS OF Kendall Coleman (11) signed for $150k, reports KL-F. Like Palladino, he agreed to terms a few days ago. Any money paid to a player drafted after the tenth round in excess of $100k counts against the draft pool, so Coleman chips $50k off the ledger.
- Missouri HS 3B Drew Bridges (20) received a call from the Orioles gauging his price in the third round and from the Yankees in the sixth round, reports Anvil Welch. “The Yankees are coming in this week or next to talk contract … I’ll make a decision after the meeting. If I get the money I’m asking, I’ll sign. If not, I’ll go to Missouri State,” he said. I’m guessing Bridges is just a backup plan in case the team winds up with some extra draft pool cash.
- Florida HS LHP Nestor Cortes (36) hopes to sign and will pitch in a summer league in the coming weeks, reports KL-F. Sounds like a typical summer follow situation, where the Bombers scout him further in the coming weeks before deciding whether to make an offer.
- According to Baseball America, the Yankees have signed UNLV RHP Andy Beresford (19), Western Oklahoma JuCo RHP Alex Polanco (23), Adelphi RHP Dillon McNamara (27), and Hawaii Pacific 3B Chaunsey Sumner (32). No word on the bonuses, but I doubt they’ll impact the draft pool. Polanco is Placido’s nephew and McNamara is a local kid from Staten Island.
- The Yankees have signed Columbia RHP Tim Giel as an undrafted free agent according to his Twitter feed. He was the top prospect in the Ivy League coming into the spring. No word on his bonus, but anything in excess of $100k counts against the draft pool. An undrafted free agent getting that big a bonus is unheard of, however. He’s a four-pitch righty who relies more on location than pure stuff. Here’s some video.
All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.