| By Chris Crawford |  | By 08-16-2010 |
UPDATE @ 3:09 PM: The M's got Littlewood's name on the dotted line for under $1 million -- $900k. Great job by M's brass calling the bluff of camp Littlewood. He would have been worth more, however.
No additional news on Stanek just yet, but one source disagrees that Paxton won't sign soon. "If they get their top few out of the way early, they could find common ground with Boras (on Paxton)."
UPDATE @ 3:08 PM: Latest out of camp Littlewood via one source is that there is already a tentative agreement in place, even though it may have been altered from what was also tentatively agreed upon before Cowart and Coyle's deals were announced.
Stanek is likely to sign, too, according to two sources, one a loyal (i'm guessing) -- and connected (not guessing) -- PI reader. The M's appear willing to pay for what the talent is worth rather than the slotted numbers for each draft pick suggest.
Jon Keller, the M's 11th round pick, is loving what Jordan Shipers got as a 16th rounder, but it's unlikely the Mariners offer him a similar bonus. He's a Nebraska commit.
Tyler Linehan, a 14th-round pick, is likely headed to Fresno State.
- Jason A. Churchill
UPDATE @ 1:58 PM: The Mariners have signed 25th round pick Ernesto Zaragoza, a RHP out of Kaiser HS in California.
UPDATE @ 1:45 PM: With Sean Coyle's announced signing for $1.3 million, it helps set the market for Littlewood. The $1.5 target is looking more and more likely.
The deadline for the M's to sign their 2010 picks is fast approaching, and as we get the latest updates we'll be sure to pass that information on to you.
The latest news Jason has heard is that Marcus Littlewood's adviser is wanting more now that Kaleb Cowart got $2.3 million. It might take as much as $1.5 million to get Littlewood to not end up at the University of San Diego.
Ryne Stanek is wanting sandwich-round money or better, too, and since Jordan Shipers got 800k, Stanek's market for the M's has to be late first-round money.
And it should come to no ones surprise that James Paxton will not be signing today.
Stay tuned.
draft-signing-deadline-2010
Comments
The following 67 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: southpaw360 on 08-16-2010 14:57:38 I hope Littlewood and Stanek get done. I don't care about the cost but I guess it isn't my money. How long does it take before hard-slotting is implemented in the CBA? Some of these bonuses/demands seem extreme in a draft that was far from elite. |
| 2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 08-16-2010 15:13:04 Hard slotting is not a good idea. All it does is keep the money in the pockets of the owners. Why would you want that? And it doesn't help the clubs that need it the most. It MAKES them sign any player to that slotted amount. They can't maneuver their picks around like LAA has done of late and the way Wash did last year with Storen and Strasburg. Leave it alone, but allow trading of picks with a lot of caveats. |
| 3. By: southpaw360 on 08-16-2010 15:19:52 I would love to see draft pick trading. I see your point about owners keeping the money and not spending it. I can say I didn't even think of that point. |
| 4. By: Iowa Ms Fan on 08-16-2010 15:20:52 We know about the first three, but have we heard any additional updates on Keller or Linehan? If, and I know its a stretch, but if we land all 5 and then add Paxton, then the Ms, in my opinion, had a heck of a draft. |
| 5. By: sg9207 on 08-16-2010 15:25:06 Hey Jason, what do you think of a system where MLB stops delaying approval of deals but in turn teams have a set budget they can spend for all non-first round picks? Something like teams get $10 million (randomly picked number not actual suggestion) to sign all of their picks after the first round and can spend whatever on their first round pick. That way players can get into systems and start their careers but at the same time teams cant run wild. |
| 6. By: Edman on 08-16-2010 15:25:23 That Littlewood's agent is expecting more than Cowart, isn't surprising. But, I can't see the M's going that far over slot. I think they have to make every effort to sign him. The University of San Diego isn't that important enough of a baseball institution that he shouldn't want over a million dollars to play baseball. If it was a Arizona, UCLA, Stanford kind of scholarship, I could see it. I think Seattle has to get that one done. As for Stanek, I'd hope they make every effort to sign him. But, if he's gonna want ridiculous money, let him pursue his education. Over slot is fine, but to a point. I guess we'll find out in about 10 1/2 hours, or there about. Paxton????? Who knows, but he and Boras are foolish to continue to slow his progress and make it longer to get to his free agency years, where he'd have clout. But then again, Boras has never let logic interfere with his quest for personal conquests. |
| 7. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 15:31:10 Actually Edman, USD has a hell of a baseball program. They year in a year out recruit excellent classes and they are a top 25 program in the country. Last year they were tied with some other school with most players drafted, so if you can get a great education there and play for a great program that's appealing. That being said, I hope he signs, but you can't blow it off as a baseball program. |
| 8. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 15:38:47 This year's USD class: Tony Wolters, Griffin Murphy, Kris Bryant, Littlewood, Kellen Sweeney, Dylan Covey, and then some. Granted most of those guys will sign, but there aren't many classes better than that. |
| 9. By: bcsimons on 08-16-2010 16:25:34 Jason or Anyone what would your suggestions be for trading draft picks? |
| 10. By: unitispat on 08-16-2010 16:43:49 No way I would not take the money if I were Littlewood no question. But lets also not forget that its San Diego! You always have to factor in things like that. Hes 18-19 what was on your mind at that age? Seattle might have to throw a little extra money his way, so what. If he does not get the money he is looking for he ends up in a great situation for himself to have fun and be a kid a little while playing a game. Oh yeah and an education too. Spend some cash on the kid or the city of San Diego and not the USD could steal him away Just something to think about is all. |
| 11. By: Jason A. Churchill on 08-16-2010 16:49:42 bcsimons, Restrictions on how many picks each team can trade each year and maybe something like the NBA where you can't trade your first-round pick two years in a row. Maybe only allowing the trading of picks in rounds 1-10 but not 11-50... otherwise it becomes a big giant mess. Putting a cap on draft budgets is ridiculous. |
| 12. By: Jason A. Churchill on 08-16-2010 16:51:28 Problem with going to school for Littlewood is, he can prove he can't play SS as he matures physically and have problems with the wood bat, get hurt, etc. Not a long ways to go in the right direction, being the 67th pick and being offered late-first money at worst, but he can fall a long ways. Littlewood's adviser should be fired if he doesn't sign. |
| 13. By: Edman on 08-16-2010 17:01:09 #10, the problem any kid from HS has to consider, is that not only can their value go up, it can also go down. I don't know much about him, but college can expose holes that aren't easily seen against HS competition. And really, do you think San Diego is all that? I've been there, and yes it's nice. But not a millon dollars worth of nice. |
| 14. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 17:08:10 Edman, I'd have to disagree with you there. San Diego is great, but living in the city I suppose makes me biased. Great weather, great school, and if the kid really thinks he can improve his stock I can understand why he would turn the money down. That being said, I really hope they get this kid signed and in the system. I'd hate to see this pick wasted, but it's certainly not ridiculous if this kid wants to go to school |
| 15. By: unitispat on 08-16-2010 17:08:29 I agree 100% it could back fire and hurt him in so many ways. But you never know what is going through his head. My perspective was just one example of many. I would hope he is an intelligent and hard working kid who would go to BFE to play baseball if he knew it would make him better. But he could also just be a kid and you cant really fault him for that. But money talks and girls usually walk out anyway so lets gt him signed up today and give him the money he wants. Wont say it again. Thanks for all your hard work Jason. |
| 16. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 17:10:14 great news on the update. Let's hope this gets done soon. |
| 17. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 08-16-2010 17:14:40 Slotting makes perfect sense Jason. Slotting allows teams like Pittsburgh and Kansas City to simply draft the best player every year and it will force the kids to sign the deal and start playing baseball rather than being focused on all this financial maneuvering. That along with a worldwide draft with an age limit and teams retaining a players rights would fix the MLB draft. If a kid wants to go to college let him, but don't let him use college as a bargaining chip to get more money. Make kids fill out paperwork to enter the MLB draft and once drafted a player gets a slot salary and must go to the drafting team. Of course trading must then be allowed to assuage the really hard headed teen that will occasionally come along. |
| 18. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 08-16-2010 17:18:58 Also, did Christian Carmichael sign a contract or not? I've seen too much conflicting info to know what to believe. |
| 19. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 17:21:38 I think they should allow some semblance of a one and done rule which allows the kids to go to college and prove themselves and allow the drafting teams the chance to sign the kid up until the next draft like it was several years ago. |
| 20. By: unitispat on 08-16-2010 17:58:49 Glad to hear the news! I understand the baseball side of it all very well. I wanted to talk about the human side of it just for some fun. But yes San Diego is all that. I have been to some of the best party spots (Panama City, South Padre) in the US for college kids and with the weather I think its far better. Obviously he is thinking more about his career than fun in the sun. But if not, Seattle might have had to throw more money his way was really my point. I would take 1mil any day over my spring breaks of yesterday. And so would Littlewood. |
| 21. By: baseballman on 08-16-2010 18:05:03 Wow, the news just keeps getting better! First Shipers, now Littlewood and Stanek is looking like he will possibly sign, this is awesome! Lets get Stanek inked and then help Boras understand hes ruining Paxtons career by not signing with us. |
| 22. By: Edman on 08-16-2010 18:23:09 I can't remember a Mariner draft this good, even if they can't get Stanek signed. Sadly, baseballman, Boras doesn't care about his client's careers, as much as he does preserving his image. The only way that changes is if clients start suing him for malpractice. I hope Matt Harrington did just that. |
| 23. By: bunvt on 08-16-2010 18:36:45 "Boras doesn't care about his client's careers, as much as he does preserving his image." I wouldn't go that far with it Edman, or else players would stop going to him with the same goal of getting as much money as possible. Boras more than often takes a real hard line though, and it has backfired on occasion. And it's real easy to paint him (the hot shot agent)as the bad guy. And for the record, I'm not a big fan of his. |
| 24. By: rocketdawg31 on 08-16-2010 18:44:09 I can't remember a draft this good, either, Edman. Which is leading me to pose this question to Jason: Is this the best Mariners draft ever, overall? Or, if it's better to go on a 1-10 scale, what would its grade be? For me, a 9.5 (very high) isn't out of the question, particularly if Stanek signs. I really don't know what James Paxton is doing, it's like he's playing a game of chicken with no one else on the road. But I have every faith he'll be Mariner property, too. After all, we have MONTHS to corral him. Although, I'd greatly prefer he spend those months in the higher minors instead of dickering over money. I'm just glad my brother and fellow Mariner fanatic isn't in charge of the Paxton negotiations, because the following would probably escape his lips: "Hey, dimbulb! You're a lefthander, you're a starter-type. You throw harder than average. You're GONNA have your chances to make some money in this game! But first you gotta get to the hoops before ya jump through them! Now git in there!" None of which I disagree with, but a bit lacking in tact. Heh heh. Happier times are soon here in Marinerville.... |
| 25. By: Edman on 08-16-2010 19:01:23 #23, Boras' hardline is for his own benefit. And, he markets that hardline to sell himself to clients. However, as an attorney, he is suppose to represent his client's best interest, and not his own. Do I feel sorry for the kids who believe what he tells them about their value? Not at all. Do I fault him for building up higher expectations than what is reasonable? Yes. It's their fault, if they believe him. |
| 26. By: subterranean on 08-16-2010 19:22:23 "Boras doesn't care about his clients careers, as much as he does preserving his image." Edman at #22 "Back it up with more than "conjecture". That's why I have a problem with what you post, you speak as if your word, is final and absolute." Edman, from the last thread. Anybody else note the irony here? |
| 27. By: Edman on 08-16-2010 20:11:31 Fish elsewhere. |
| 28. By: 1990Coug on 08-16-2010 20:17:50 I remember something Tracy Ringolsby said many years ago about Boras. Ringolsby said that he can always tell what players have Boras as an agent. He said that when he talks to non-Boras players, they talk about baseball, life, etc. When he talks to Boras players, the first, second and last thing they always talk about is related to money. |
| 29. By: ARock on 08-16-2010 22:10:07 Boras takes money away from Billionaires and gives it to Millionaires. That's a good thing. The billionaires own the media and use it to badmouth Boras for being good at his job. Lots of us poor suckers buy into it. |
| 30. By: Missthosepilots on 08-16-2010 22:35:02 ARock, reality is a lot of us cannot affort to take our family to ballgames. The money is amazing on all sides. Sad how in the process, often it is forgotten it is still a game. |
| 31. By: ARock on 08-16-2010 22:46:39 The price of a ticket to the ballgame is not determined by how much the players get paid. Boras does not drive up ticket prices. He adjusts how much of the profits that would be made by MLB go to the owners, and how much goes to the players. I'd rather see the players make more, not the owners. Ticket prices are based on supply and demand - the demand for tickets at a given price being based on people's desire and ability to pay for them. There have been many studies done with this conclusion. |
| 32. By: rocketdawg31 on 08-16-2010 22:49:22 Twelve minutes to go, and still no word on Stanek. Oh,well. Even if it doesn't happen, Littlewood's signing completes an excellent draft class. It's nice to see the farm system just about completely rebuilt after only two seasons. |
| 33. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 23:07:04 Did they get Stanek? I'm hoping maybe it just hasnt been reported yet |
| 34. By: Blowgun7 on 08-16-2010 23:13:55 I just keep refreshing twitter (Klaw and Callis). There is like a new signing every minute. |
| 35. By: Missthosepilots on 08-16-2010 23:14:24 Arock, I wholeheartedly agree with what you wrote. But I always wonder what the studies say about certain cities. I lived in Miami where there is a whole lot of supply. |
| 36. By: Blowgun7 on 08-16-2010 23:20:41 Didn't sign according to Callis. Sucks. Hope we get Paxton done or this class isn't all that impressive IMO |
| 37. By: Shawnuel on 08-16-2010 23:22:46 Yup, no Stanek, according to Callis and TNT. |
| 38. By: Stormton on 08-16-2010 23:23:18 Too bad on Stanek. So long as Paxton gets done I'm still very pleased, otherwise a big meh. |
| 39. By: Shawnuel on 08-16-2010 23:24:30 Harper got $6.25 mil bonus,$9.9 mil in guarantees, according to SI |
| 40. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 23:25:19 Looks like Tampa Bay came up really short. They didn't get Sale or Vettleson |
| 41. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 23:25:37 Looks like Tampa Bay came up really short. They didn't get Sale or Vettleson |
| 42. By: Slack on 08-16-2010 23:26:31 The Padres and Brewers came up short, too, although I understand it with Covey and the diabetes diagnosis. How about the Dodgers getting a deal done with Zach Lee? |
| 43. By: marinermutt on 08-16-2010 23:28:48 Will we get a 3rd round comp pick next year for Stanek? |
| 44. By: Jason A. Churchill on 08-16-2010 23:31:05 No, the comp picks for not signing a draftee go thru round 2 only. I am shocked on Sale. The kid wanted to play pro ball right away. Epic fail. |
| 45. By: Jason A. Churchill on 08-16-2010 23:33:53 I am told Sale and Vettleson both signed at the last second. Sale got 1.6ish. Vettleson over 800k. |
| 46. By: masonb on 08-16-2010 23:51:32 Jason, do you have any info on the Stanek negotiations. Was Seattle willing to give him the supplemental 1st money I heard he was seeking, or was this more a situation where the kid just wanted to go to school? |
| 47. By: marinermutt on 08-16-2010 23:58:15 Would love to hear any details on the negotiations with Stanek. Really disappointed it couldn't get done. |
| 48. By: 1990Coug on 08-17-2010 00:00:07 Well, too bad about Stanek, but you cannot win them all. I wonder if the M's upped their offer and signed Shipers because they had a feeling that Stanek was going to turn them down. |
| 49. By: kath99208 on 08-17-2010 00:01:12 Jason are you sure that is the case? I found this earlier on a site explaining compensatory draft picks... "A team that fails to sign a third-round pick receives a sandwich pick between the third and fourth rounds" |
| 50. By: Missthosepilots on 08-17-2010 00:12:48 Help soothe draft day non-signing woes: Ackley hits 3-1 pitch for walk-off homer. |
| 51. By: mymrbig on 08-17-2010 00:16:29 Assuming Paxton eventually signs, the draft class is still good (even without Stanek). Particularly when you consider that the M's did not have a 1st round pick (thanks Chone). |
| 52. By: Blowgun7 on 08-17-2010 00:23:24 Yes I agree. Walker, Littlewood, Paxton, Shipers, Pryor, etc..is a good draft for us. Stanek would have made it an A though. I really like Littlewood though. I think he has a chance to be real good. He and Paxton are probably the two I'm most excited about (if Paxton signs).. I liked Stanek so much because I'm not sure anybody knows what we're getting with Walker. He could be excellent or he could be a total bust (and I know all these guys could be busts, but he seems much more raw than a lot of HS arms). Stanek really helped balance out some of the risk that Walker brings to the table. At least we signed Shipers though, so that's another interesting SP arm added to the mix. |
| 53. By: 1990Coug on 08-17-2010 00:35:33 I wonder if the money allocated to Stanek might be used on an international free agent. Or they can pocket the money and use it next year. |
| 54. By: DAMellen on 08-17-2010 00:42:37 Don't forget Frankie Christian. I read somewhere that he would've been like a second or third round pick if he hadn't had signability concerns and we signed him too. 2/2 on our late round flyers definitely alleviates some of the sting from not landing one of our early round...uh...flyers I guess. |
| 55. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 08-17-2010 01:02:39 Does anyone know if the M's were able to sign the catcher Carmichael? I have seen reports that they did and also that they did not. |
| 56. By: Blowgun7 on 08-17-2010 01:04:03 Yeah, he's signed. He's playing in Arizona. |
| 57. By: rjfrik on 08-17-2010 01:13:03 Edman. This is for you. If you take the Mariners record back to when they traded Cliff Lee away, to me that's the state of the current team and a realistic expectation of how they will play moving forward, they are 12 and 26 in 48 games, which is 30% of the season. The Orioles are 17 and 21 over the same span of time. Both teams will most likely remain constructed exactly the same. In fact if there are any major players to leave either team it most likely will be from the M's. But lets just say the teams remain constructed as they are currently. Each team has 43 games left to play with two of those game being against each other. If you take each teams winning percentage from the last 48 games and compute them to the next 43 games the Mariners would pick up 4.5 games on the Orioles, which would give them a worse record. The next two games are crucial. If the Orioles can sweep, which I think they have a great shot at doing, then it is a very good possibility that the M's will finish with a worse record. In order for them to catch the Pirates it's going to be tough, although the Pirates do get 29 of their remaining 44 games against teams that are under .500, which is pretty awesome when it comes to the prospect of them winning games. So you never know. This is why I hold out hope!! |
| 58. By: rjfrik on 08-17-2010 01:28:53 Sorry that thread post was supposed to be on the previous thread when Edman got a little testy. I don't know why it ended up in this thread. I guess I'm tired. It's late. By the way LOL subterranean. |
| 59. By: mauricewilliamsiii on 08-17-2010 01:50:04 Thanks blowgun. |
| 60. By: marinermutt on 08-17-2010 01:55:31 I looked at this years draft order and there were 3 supplemental picks after the 3rd round for teams that didn't sign their 2009 3rd round draft pick. Jason, did something change for you to say comp picks go only through the 2nd round for next year? Thanks, |
| 61. By: Edman on 08-17-2010 10:59:15 rjfrik, that's more of what I expect, rather than an absolute statement, thank you. On the other side, giving a shout-out to subterranean was more than childish. Let's end it here. It's fruitless and only clutters this forum. |
| 62. By: randallball on 08-17-2010 11:47:14 Barret Loux now deemed a 9/1 FA. Any chance the M's get in on that bidding Jason? I would assume he would sign as A FA for less than what draft slot would have been (~$2m), right? |
| 63. By: marinermutt on 08-17-2010 12:28:07 Jason, do you think Littlewood will play in any league this year or will he just report to the instructional league in Sep/Oct. thanks, |
| 64. By: rjfrik on 08-17-2010 13:10:30 Just playing with you Ed, that's all. You know it doesn't come from anywhere but good/fun intentions. |
| 65. By: baseballman on 08-17-2010 13:27:39 Really bummed about Stanek, hes gonna be good. JAC or Chris do you think we signed Shipers knowing that Stanek would most likely be a long shot? Getting him lessens the pain of losing out on Stanek. Also, is Shipers better than Stanek? I know Shipers fell so far because of signability issues, but if it werent for that, where should he have been drafted? SIGN PAXTON ALREADY! Boras needs to seriously re-evaluate how hes handling this situation. The best thing for Paxton is to sign now (or a month ago) and get him on a team and pitching now. The longer he waits to longer it takes him to get to the bigs and the longer he waits decreases the chances of him making the bigs... |
| 66. By: subterranean on 08-17-2010 16:06:54 Actually Edman, I think you had good advice in the last thread. I read this site ritually and my personal feeling is that we are always dealing in probabilities, that it is impossible to say anything with certainty and yet, we all are guilty at times of making statements that ring of absolute certainty and I think we should all cut some slack for each other when that happens. Too much effort gets wasted clarifying how "nobody really KNOWS anything". Yeah, we get it. Now let's talk some baseball. |
| 67. By: Chris Crawford on 08-17-2010 16:50:03 Littlewood will go to the instructional leagues. Not signing Stanek obviously isn't a good thing, but it's not a killer either. If the M's had failed to sign Littlewood and Stanek, with no chance to get Paxton done either? Sure. But there is time left to get the Paxton deal done and this can only be considered a successful draft, IMO. |
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