Twins sign 2020 Draft picks Soularie, Raya
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins welcomed the two newest members of their organization on Thursday, when they officially signed Alerick Soularie and Marco Raya, two of their selections from last week's 2020 MLB Draft.
Soularie was the club's second-round selection with the No. 59 pick in the Draft, and he signed for a bonus of $900,000, sources confirmed to MLB.com, which is below the value of $1.19 million for that selection. The outfielder was a junior at the University of Tennessee, where he slashed .336/.448/.586 with 16 homers over parts of two seasons following his freshman season at San Jacinto College.
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Raya, a right-handed pitcher from Laredo, Texas, was the Twins' fourth-round pick, and he signed for $410,000, according to a source, which also puts him below the slot value of $442,900 for the No. 128 selection in the Draft. The 17-year-old was in his senior season at United South High School and was lauded by Twins evaluators for his strong mechanics and projectability as he should add more strength to his frame. Raya had committed to Texas Tech but chose to sign with the Twins instead.
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Due to the shortened Draft, only two players now remain unsigned among the Twins' draftees: first-rounder Aaron Sabato and fifth-rounder Kala'i Rosario.
Minnesota has thus committed $1,310,000 to these two signings out of its total allotment of $4,528,600 for this year's bonus pool. Because they went under slot for Soularie and Raya, the Twins have some wiggle room in their negotiations with Sabato and Rosario, if needed. The No. 27 pick for Sabato is valued at $2,570,100, and Rosario's No. 158 selection carries a value of $330,100.