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| (Photo By Mark Brown) |
As Friday's deadline for signing amateur free agents looms,
the Red Sox have yet to sign their top pick (#12 overall) to a bonus contract. Multiple sources are reporting the "party line" that the team still is confident of signing New Jersey high school LHP pitcher
Jason Groome. But reality says differently. Despite Boston making an offer over the #12 slot money ($3.5 million versus the slot allocation of roughly $3.2 million), the kid wants $5 million. That isn't going to happen, since the Red Sox still have multiple other draftees to sign within their
total signing budget of about $7.4 million. The kid could be bluffing for a little higher offer—since his only alternative is going to some jerkwater junior college in Florida and re-entering the draft next year. After all, he could stink next year or get injured. So, he
may still sign by Friday—but don't be surprised if Boston loses him and
completely wastes its top 2016 pick.
