2023 MLB Draft signing deadline passes with few surprises
The 2023 Draft's signing deadline day featured three seven-figure bonuses and relatively little drama.
No. 5 overall pick Walker Jenkins, the last first-rounder to agree to a deal, signed with the Twins for $7,144,200 a couple of hours before Tuesday's 5 p.m. ET deadline. The South Brunswick HS (Southport, N.C.) outfielder's bonus represented $4,500 more than the assigned pick value and the maximum Minnesota could spend without exceeding its allotment. North Carolina's best prep prospect since Josh Hamilton went No. 1 overall in 1999, Jenkins has a sweet left-handed swing, huge power to all fields and solid speed that gives him a chance to stick in center field.
The Orioles took a similar tack to signing Florida State right-hander Jackson Baumeister. The supplemental second-rounder received $1,605,100, well in excess of the $1,243,300 slot value at No. 63 and the most Baltimore could pay without going over its bonus pool. Baumeister features a 93-95 mph fastball that reaches 98 with good carry and a curveball that plays as his best secondary offering.
The Cubs landed their supplemental second-rounder, Arkansas right-hander Jaxon Wiggins, for $1,401,500. The pick value at No. 58 was $1,101,000 and Chicago came within $100 of blowing past its bonus allotment by more than 5 percent. Wiggins flashed first-round stuff at times with the Razorbacks, including a fastball that tops out at 99 mph, but missed this entire season following Tommy John surgery.
Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds teams lose future picks, starting with a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent, but no team has incurred that penalty since the current system started in 2012.
Two other players selected in the first 10 rounds signed for $497,500 on the final day. Tennessee shortstop and Giants fourth-rounder Maui Ahuna was one of the best defenders in the Draft. Texas outfielder and Dodgers supplemental fourth-rounder Dylan Campbell, an underrated bat with a penchant for line-drive contact, set a Big 12 Conference record with a 38-game hitting streak this spring.
Just one of the 314 players selected in the first 10 rounds failed to turn pro, a new record. UC Irvine outfielder Caden Kendle agreed to a $175,000 bonus with the Cardinals as a 10th-rounder before later backing out of the deal. The previous low for unsigned picks in the top 10 rounds was two in both 2016 and 2019.
There were several notable deals in rounds 11-20. The Brewers signed five high school players for a total of $2,050,600, headlined by 11th-rounder Bishop Letson ($482,600) and 20th-rounder Justin Chambers ($547,500), and came within $30 of the 5 percent threshold. The White Sox inked 12th-rounder Mathias LaCombe, the second French-born player ever drafted, for $450,000 and the Orioles paid 14th-rounder Michael Forret the same amount.
All told, the 30 clubs combined to spend $350,089,060 on signing bonuses for draftees in 2023. That obliterated the record of $316,560,984 from 2019, when the Draft consisted of 40 rounds compared to 20 this year. The 28 first-round picks averaged $4,733,796 in bonuses, eclipsing the previous high of $4,257,345 from 2022.
Louisiana State teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews received the two highest bonuses in Draft history after going 1-2 in that order. The Pirates signed Skenes for $9.2 million and the Nationals inked Crews for $9 million, shattering the $8,416,300 mark set by Spencer Torkelson as the No. 1 overall choice of the Tigers in 2020.
Indiana high school outfielder Max Clark (No. 3, Tigers, $7.7 million) and Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford (No. 4, Rangers, $8 million) also established new standards for their slots. Bubba Starling (Royals, $7.5 million in 2011) still holds the record at No. 5 but his bonus was spread over multiple years via the two-sport athlete rule, so Langford's $7,144,200 is the most up-front money ever in that slot.
The Tigers spent the most of any club, shelling out $17,677,450 in bonuses, the second-highest total ever behind only the 2015 Astros, who paid out $19,103,000. Twenty-one of the 30 teams exceeded $10 million in bonus spending.
Below is a team-by-team breakdown of Draft bonus spending:
Tigers: $17,677,450
Pirates: $17,123,300
Nationals: $16,150,000
Athletics: $15,882,600
Reds: $15,321,500
Twins: $15,245,600
Royals: $14,002,200
Mariners: $13,990,500
Marlins: $13,692,400
Rockies: $13,192,450
Brewers: $12,498,100
Rays: $12,172,100
D-backs: $12,055,000
Red Sox: $11,851,200
Rangers: $11,442,900
Giants: $11,433,525
Orioles: $11,414,800
White Sox: $10,967,800
Cubs: $10,695,000
Guardians: $10,221,275
Angels: $10,015,225
Braves: $9,988,500
Mets: $9,869,850
Dodgers: $8,583,000
Astros: $8,234,500
Blue Jays: $7,856,185
Cardinals: $7,618,500
Padres: $7,161,600
Yankees: $6,970,900
Phillies: $6,761,100