Young baseball players dream of reaching the big leagues. They spend countless hours and often thousands upon thousands of dollars to get the attention of MLB teams. Some are rewarded for their years of dedication with signing bonuses in the millions.
For three Atlanta Braves minor leaguers picked in the top 10 rounds of this year’s draft, $500 apiece was enough to go pro.
Instead of drafting players in the eighth, ninth and 10th rounds who could have commanded bonuses in the $200,000-$250,000 range, the Braves chose to take three college seniors who otherwise would’ve been selected much later in the draft, if they were drafted at all: Parker Brosius, Jacob Jarrell and Ben Zeigler-Namoa.
The strategy allowed the Braves to redirect $653,000 in savings to sign higher priority picks.
“Those signings were shocking to the industry,” said one rival scouting director who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. “The only way that happens is you have those kinds of players in place willing to do that sort of thing, which allows you to then make the early calls that they did.”
Several teams in the past three years have followed a similar strategy, finding players to sign for a relative pittance. Using MLB.com’s draft tracker as reference, The Athletic found multiple instances where the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers joined the Braves in signing players for less than 2.5 percent of the assigned values of their slots. The Jays and Rangers even handed out bonuses this year worth less than 1 percent of the slot bonus allocated to that pick in the draft.
In some instances, like with the Braves’ players, teams attached a $2,500 signing contingency bonus.
Still, the paltry bonuses offered by the Braves astounded multiple scouting directors and agents who, like most of the sources in this story, spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity to speak freely and preserve relationships in the sport. They had questions about how teams approach players who could make money through NIL deals in Division I programs, and debated whether these moves fit the spirit of the draft.
Braves vice president for amateur scouting Ronit Shah and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos declined to speak about the team’s draft approach. A team spokesperson said they were uncomfortable speaking publicly because the strategy is “proprietary.”
The idea behind the tactic is straightforward, though. Each team is assigned a bonus pool before the draft and can’t exceed that total amount to sign their selections in the top 10 rounds without incurring a penalty. Teams often offer players bonuses below their slot values to spend more on others. This year’s pools ranged from roughly $20.5 million (Chicago White Sox) to just under $4 million (Dodgers). The Braves had the eighth-largest pot at $15.87 million.
The money the Braves saved with their $500 signings gave them wiggle room. They signed 11th-rounder Ryan Barker for $697,500 — the assigned worth of a mid-fourth-round pick — and went over-slot to sign second-rounder Kaiden McCarthy and sixth-rounder Tyson Grulkowski. Notably, Jensen Hirschkorn received $3,997,500, the highest bonus ever given to a player selected in the third round. That swayed him from pitching at LSU.
All four of those players were ticketed for Division I baseball programs before the draft.
In contrast, each of the Braves’ three-figure signees was a college senior, and Zeigler-Namoa had played five college seasons.
“At the end of the day, the Braves used the system in place to their advantage. Is it illegal? Nope. Do others act in better faith? Sure,” an agent said. “They know (college seniors) have no leverage and it is good business for them to maximize the pool.” He noted that MLB fought to implement the bonus pool system in 2012, only for teams to find ways to circumvent it.
What the Braves pulled off surprised multiple scouting directors, who said they hadn’t seen $500 bonuses in many years, and especially not within the first 10 rounds.
With name, image, and likeness (NIL) money available to college baseball players, the trend could continue. The best college programs are using NIL funds to match some MLB bonus figures, especially for the top high school talents in the draft. Already in the past few years, players looking for more money have challenged teams to get creative with their pools.
“It’s definitely possible and may be more common practice (to shift funds) if you need to save a lot of money to get a high player you really like,” said a rival evaluator. “Jensen Hirschkorn is an example of a high school player that’s harder to sign due to NIL.”
As one executive from a different club put it, “Is there much of a difference in terms of player value for a player signing for $10,000 and a player signing for $500?”
Those less-coveted players could end up unselected in the 20 rounds of the draft, or signing later out of independent ball without getting a bonus. Since the minor leagues were contracted, there are fewer spots for players in affiliated ball.
“The reality is, it’s become harder than ever to be a professional baseball player,” said Alex Hinz, an agent who represents Zeigler-Namoa. “And if you get an opportunity to do it, and particularly in a year where you no longer have leverage, then you jump at it.”
Zeigler-Namoa is a prime example. A native of Hawaii, he didn’t have the same exposure to higher-level baseball or its scouts as his peers. His path to a mid-major program required a year at Yavapai College in Arizona. He knew he wouldn’t be offered a high bonus if he were drafted.
So when the Braves came calling, he took a leap.
“Every team kind of knows what you are,” Zeigler-Namoa said. “There’s no leverage there, so at the end of the day, (a player) going to sign for whatever it may be, and he can be a budget-saver guy. I definitely was on that list.”
— Will Sammon contributed to this report.
