Draft deadline passes with all 1st-rounders signed
The Draft signing deadline came and went at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday with very little drama.
The final two unsigned first-rounders came to terms in the morning. East Carolina right-hander Trey Yesavage (No. 20 overall) agreed to a $4,177,500 deal with the Blue Jays and North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt (No. 22) signed for $4 million with the Orioles. Every player from the first round agreed to terms.
Four players in the top 10 rounds did not turn pro — supplemental second-rounders Tyler Bell (Rays) and Chris Levonas (Brewers), third-rounder Ryan Prager (Angels) and ninth-rounder Jaxon Jelkin (Mets). That was the most unsigned players from the first 10 rounds since the 2018 Draft also had four.
Bell, an Illinois high school shortstop, tweeted Wednesday that he plans to follow through on his commitment to Kentucky, where he’ll be Draft-eligible again as a sophomore in 2026. The ace left-hander for College World Series runner-up Texas A&M as a redshirt sophomore, Prager tweeted a week ago that he will return to the Aggies. NIL deals for both may have contributed to those decisions.
Levonas, a New Jersey prep right-hander, declined late first-round money from the Brewers and will attend Wake Forest. Milwaukee saved $1,912,700 vs. its bonus pool with its other deals and used that surplus for above-slot bonuses on four late-round selections: Michigan high school left-hander Joey Broughton (13th round, $535,000), Kentucky righty Travis Smith (15th round, $462,500), Florida prep righty Jayden Dubanewicz (16th round, $665,000) and New York high school righty Tyler Renz (18th round, $850,000). Broughton signed Wednesday while the other three accepted contracts on deadline day.
A righty, Jelkin got off to a hot start at Houston this spring before blowing out his elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery. New York never made him a formal offer, so Jelkin will become a free agent after the deadline passes. Whatever bonus he receives won’t count against the signing team’s bonus pool.
The Rays (No. 67), Brewers (No. 68) and Angels (end of third round) will receive compensation choices in the 2025 Draft for failing to sign their 2024 early-rounders. New York will get nothing for not signing Jelkin.
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The 30 teams combined to spend $374,345,077 on signing bonuses for drafted players, eclipsing the record of $350,089,060 set a year ago. The 30 first-rounders averaged $5,036,544 in bonuses, breaking the mark of $4,733,796 also established in 2023.
The No. 2 and 3 overall picks, Reds right-hander Chase Burns and Rockies outfielder/third baseman Charlie Condon, set Draft bonus records with $9.25 million. They edged Paul Skenes, who signed for $9.2 million as the No. 1 choice last year.
The Guardians, who signed No. 1 overall selection Travis Bazzana for $8.95 million, became the first club ever to spend $20 million on a Draft — $20,416,100, to be exact. The Astros set the previous standard by shelling out $19,103,000 in 2015.
Team-by-team breakdown of Draft bonus spending:
Guardians: $20,416,100
Rockies: $18,206,100
Reds: $17,665,800
Athletics: $16,908,900
White Sox: $16,292,500
Nationals: $15,925,200
Pirates: $15,370,525
Royals: $14,594,600
Angels: $13,990,500
Tigers: $13,712,500
Diamondbacks: $13,462,000
Twins: $13,136,650
Orioles: $12,691,800
Brewers: $12,504,900
Red Sox: $12,250,000
Cardinals: $11,739,100
Cubs: $11,481,900
Marlins: $11,360,000
Mets: $11,018,000
Padres: $11,014,600
Mariners: $10,479,900
Blue Jays: $10,356,050
Rays: $9,727,600
Yankees: $9,688,190
Braves: $9,453,100
Giants: $8,927,350
Phillies: $8,784,400
Rangers: $8,252,600
Astros: $7,515,412
Dodgers: $7,418,800