The Cleveland Guardians have signed Travis Bazzana, the top pick in this year’s MLB draft.
Jim Callis from MLB.com reports that Bazzana’s signing bonus is $8.95 million, which is less than the $10.57 million slot value for the first pick. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a deal with Chase Burns, who was picked second in the draft and will receive a record-breaking $9.25 million.
Here’s an updated list of the top 10 all-time signing bonuses:
1. Chase Burns, 2024, Reds, $9.25 million
2. Paul Skenes, 2023, Pirates, $9.2 million
3. Dylan Crews, 2023, Nationals, $9 million
4. Travis Bazzana, 2024, Guardians, $8.95 million
5. Spencer Torkelson, 2020, Tigers, $8.42 million
6. Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones (tie), 2022 Orioles/Diamondbacks respectively – both at $8.19 million
7-10: Adley Rutschman (2019), Jack Leiter (2021), Bobby Witt Jr., (2019) all ranging from $8 to nearly $7 million
Details on Bazzana’s Selection:
CBS Sports ranked Bazzana as the No. 2 prospect before the draft began .
“Coming into spring,” says CBS Sports’ analysis on him at that time: “Other teams thought Guardians were super interested in Bazzana early on.” They weren’t wrong; he had an amazing season—batting .416/.475/.937 with 28 homers and stealing bases like nobody’s business! His stats are impressive: more walks than strikeouts by a margin of forty! However… his arm isn’t great so he’s sticking to second base.
Fans might think it’s cool how much buzz surrounded him going No.1!
Interestingly enough though… Charlie Condon—the third pick—is still unsigned! He was expected to get even more money than Bazzana initially predicted too! If true? He could be one of only four players ever getting over nine-million-dollar bonuses!
What do you think about these signings?
