Get that John Hancock.
So they’ve taken the risk. Now they need to get them signed. In the past, negotiations for a lot of talent in the first ten rounds would drag on until near the deadline for signing. This summer that date is July 15, but it doesn’t seem like there will be a lot of drama leading up to it. First-round pick Triston Casas has agreed to sign a slot deal for $2,552,800.00. That’s a big one as there was the potential for his deal to be over slot value which would eat into the money saved with their rounds 5-10 picks.
Additionally Kole Cottam, Delvin Granberg, Brian Brown and Grant Williams have all signed. Kottam’s deal (referenced in the link) is for slightly below slot. Granberg’s is for way below. They were the 4th, 6th, 9th and 10th round picks. It actually seems likely that of the first ten picks the team made, only Nick Decker is likely to end up significantly over slot value, and that’s a big deal because of Northcut, who they drafted in the 11th round. But he’s not the only interesting name from day three:
Late-round pick signing for Red Sox: 25th-rounder Caleb Ramsey, a Georgia prep outfielder, will sign for $125k plus scholarship money. Butler commit going pro. @ColinHubbard22 1st.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) June 11, 2018
Caleb Ramsey is a prep outfielder that was not ranked by Baseball America. The fact that he got the full $125K likely means he has some upside, however. Many picks in the 11-40 range will sign for significantly less than that.
There might be some help on the horizon.
Of more immediate concern, Durbin Feltman, the closer from TCU, has apparently agreed to sign. He was flying into Boston over the weekend to take his physical. His bonus is unknown at this point, but his presence could be felt as early as August. While unlikely, his being a reliever right from the start and being a college junior could lead to his being fast-tracked. The Red Sox are certain to be looking for bullpen help at the deadline. Feltman may be a “break glass in case of emergency” option should nothing materialize for Dave Dombrowski. He works with a plus fastball and a plus slider.
Also from that MassLive article was a tidbit about 5th round pick Thad Ward being close to signing over the weekend. While not quite as dominant as Durbin Feltman, he is another fastball/slider reliever who could move fast. His ETA would more than likely be some time in 2019, but the lack of power bats wasn’t the only thing they tried to fix last week.