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The Blue Jays have until August 17 – one week – to sign players drafted in the 2009 amateur draft. Toronto has 23 players left unsigned from the draft, although 12 of them were selected in the 39th through 50th round. However, the first five selections still remain unsigned, as does the team’s sixth round pick.

The team’s first round pick, Chad Jenkins, a right-handed pitcher from Kennesaw State University, was taken 20th overall and has not been signed. I am not particularly worried about Jenkins signing, as I think he is waiting for some of the pitchers selected ahead of him to set the market. College pitchers were selected at 8 (Mike Leake) and 15 (Alex White), and high-school pitchers were selected 6, 9, 11, 14, 18 and 19. Mike Minor was selected at seventh and has recently signed and I’m ignoring Drew Storen, who was a college closer and has already signed.

Apparently the slot recommendations are 10% lower than last year due to economic considerations and Selig is attempting to hold hard to those suggestions. Some of the unsigned players have indicated they aren’t asking for astronomical contracts, but are asking for numbers around the slot numbers from last year. I anticipate that a bunch of those mid-round pitchers will eventually sign, including Jenkins.

That list also ignores Stephen Strasburg, who is a whole different conversation. He, of course, remains unsigned and apparently he and the Nationals remain far apart and haven’t talked often recently. There has been no change in the public stance about Boras’ request for a $50 million bonus. However, Strasburg isn’t the only high-profile draft pick who hasn’t signed. Dustin Ackley, the second overall pick, is apparently far apart in his negotiations with the Seattle Mariners. Third overall pick, Donavan Tate, has reported to football camp at the University of North Carolina and there is a reasonable chance he may not sign. Three pitchers selected in the top 10, Zach Wheeler, Leake and Jacob Turner, remain unsigned along with 12 other first rounders not including Jenkins.

Speaking of Boras, there are more questions concerning the Jays supplemental first-round pick, Boras client and Canadian James Paxton from the University of Kentucky. High school pitchers Jake Eliopoulos and Jake Barrett, a lefty from Newmarket and a righty from Arizona respectively, are still without contracts, as is outfielder Jake Marisnick from Riverside, California.

Complete List of Unsigned Jays Draft Picks:
Rd 1. Chad Jenkins, RHP, Kennesaw State University
Rd 1s. James Paxton, LHP, University of Kentucky
Rd 2. Jake Eliopoulos, LHP, Newmarket, Ontario (HS)
Rd 3. Jake Barrett, RHP, Mesa, Arizona (HS)
Rd 3s.Jake Marisnick, OF, Riverside, California (HS)
Rd 6. K.C. Hobson, OF, Bakersfield, California (HS)
Rd 15. Drew Hutchison, RHP, Lakeland, Florida (HS)
Rd 18. Daniel Webb, RHP, Northwest Florida State JC
Rd 21. Kurt Giller, RHP, Manhattan, Kansas (HS)
Rd 30. Tim McDonald, OF, Fresno, California (HS)
Rd 33. Robert Benincasa, RHP, Seffner, California (HS)
Rd 39. Josh Lucas, RHP, Lakeland, Florida (HS)
Rd 40. Jonathan Gilbert, OF, Ahuntisic (Quebec) JC
Rd 41. Zach Kirsey, OF, Louisana State-Eunice JC
Rd 42. Michael Reeves, C, Peterborough, Ontario (HS)
Rd 43. Maxx Tissenbaum, SS, Toronto, Ontario (HS)
Rd 44. Nick Wagner, OF, Rancho Santa Margarita, California (HS)
Rd 45. Brandon Kaye, RHP, Douglas, British Columbia (HS)
Rd 46. Carlos Castro, 3B, Lon Morris (Texas) JC
Rd 47. John Rigg, OF, St. Petersburg (Florida) JC
Rd 48. Jeff Gibbs, RHP, Scarborough, Ontario (HS)
Rd 49. Tommy Collier, RHP, San Jacinto (Texas) JC
Rd 50. Burke Seifrit, RHP, Surrey, British Columbia (HS)

Posted by Thomas on Monday, August 10 2009 @ 01:22 PM EDT.
One Week Left to Sign | 37 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
MatO - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 01:36 PM EDT (#204330) #
Nitpicking but I think Marasnick was a 3rd round compensaton pick for Burnett.  Goins was the 4th rounder.
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Mylegacy - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 01:57 PM EDT (#204334) #
I agree Chad Jenkins will sign. However - I'm not as optomistic that Paxton, or the two Jakes - Eliopoulos and Barrett will sign. The REST of the unsigned can stay that way. Not a lot there.- in M(H)O.

HOWEVER - ALL FOUR of those pitchers have a REAL chance to make the bigs. Getting ALL FOUR would be a huge upgrade to the Jays pitching depth and would go a long way to restocking the system with high(ish) end pitchers. JP - GO get them signed!

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Mike Green - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 02:07 PM EDT (#204337) #
There are six Canadians there in the lower rounds, ML.  Where's your patriotism? :)
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Ozzieball - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 02:59 PM EDT (#204338) #
Teams are known to sit on overslot signings for a while so that they don't screw up the market for other players they have to sign. It's entirely possible that some of those players are already signed but the Jays aren't announcing the numbers.

Speculatively speaking, for the sake of example, if the Jays have come to an agreement with Paxton for more money than they are offering Jenkins, then they would not want to release the numbers because it would drive Jenkins' price up.

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Denoit - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 03:37 PM EDT (#204342) #
Im not too worried about it, pretty sure all the guys are going to sign. Well the top picks anyways...
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MatO - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 04:09 PM EDT (#204347) #
I'm not too worried either.  I think Marasnick on draft day either blogged or twittered that the Jays had met his asking price and was going out to buy a Jays hat.  This secrecy silliness has been a trademark of MLB for a long time but if everyone knows what everyone else is doing it's all kind of pointless and it sure hasn't had any effect on curbing signing bonuses.
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Jevant - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 04:21 PM EDT (#204348) #
This would be a good way to put the Rios savings to use.

I honestly believe that he's gone by noon tomorrow.  And given the fact that nobody (except the ChiSox, apparently) would offer Rios the contract that he's currently entitled to (and certainly not the Jays).

Considering the way things are looking, I'd prefer the roster savings to Rios at this point.  Sad, but true.  And if that happens, Doc will need to go in the offseason, and we'll see if we can contend in 2012 or beyond.

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Ozzieball - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 04:33 PM EDT (#204349) #
And given the fact that nobody (except the ChiSox, apparently) would offer Rios the contract that he's currently entitled to (and certainly not the Jays).

Except you know virtually everyone who has actually done an analysis of his contract and found it to be a bargain on the order of ~10 million. But hey, don't put down the hatorade, I'm sure Reed Johnson will be back any day now to save this team.
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Frank Markotich - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 04:48 PM EDT (#204351) #

If Rios actually is gone by noon tomorrow, I'll .... well, I won't promise to eat anything, but I'll be very, very surprised.

In August, half the league goes on waivers. Teams do this to gauge trade interest, but a few days is not a long time to get something worked out. Often it's in anticipation of further talks in the off-season.

If the Blue jays wouldn't deal Scutaro at the deadline because they wanted to keep the team intact, I can't see trading Rios.

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PeterG - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 05:12 PM EDT (#204353) #
if it was an easy decision to recall Rios, Jays would have done so already. Either they are attempting to negotiate a trade or stewing over a possible decision to let him walk.
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Jevant - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 05:20 PM EDT (#204354) #
Anyone who has followed my comments would know I am not a hater, and I have no idea where the Reed Johnson shot came from.  Perhaps "nobody" might have been a bit strong (and yes, I have heard all the comments suggesting that it's a bargain, etc), so I'm sorry for that. 

I like Alex Rios, and have been a vocal defender of both him (and Vernon too).  I am a passionate Jays fan who feels that Rios's contract can and (in order to compete in the AL East on a 80 million payroll) must be reallocated.  That's all there is to it.  Do you really believe they can compete when paying Wells/Rios over 30 million/year in an 80 million payroll?  I don't.

Could they hang on and trade him on the offseason?  Perhaps, maybe, sure.  And maybe that's what they'll do, and maybe that makes more sense.  But all things considered, if they got rid of him now, I can't really fault that move either.

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Frank Markotich - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 05:22 PM EDT (#204355) #

And to elaborate on what I said earlier, everybody goes on waivers in August because once a player clears waivers in August it's good for the balance of the season. So even if a team isn't actively looking to move a player, they'll try to get him through waivers because if an offer happens to come along post-deadline, he's already cleared waivers and can be dealt.

You never know when a contender will have a key injury.

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PeterG - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:22 PM EDT (#204358) #
Sportsnet has just reported that Rios has been traded. Details to follow.
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Ozzieball - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:26 PM EDT (#204359) #
Did JP just say that they're letting him go?


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AWeb - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:27 PM EDT (#204360) #
That's what the word is - Rios for nothing. Can JP be fired now?
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PeterG - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:27 PM EDT (#204361) #
Now they are announcing that no player coming back.
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Ozzieball - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:29 PM EDT (#204362) #
Did JP just say that they're letting him go?


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PeterG - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:30 PM EDT (#204363) #
This would not have been JP's decision. Only Beeston would have been allowed to make this decision albeit with JP's input.
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AWeb - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:31 PM EDT (#204364) #
"cash is king going forward", apparently. To add to my brief earlier comment - JP had his chance to tear down and rebuild, and came up with some very good teams. But there is no way you let him do it again, is there? I'm stunned that the Jays got nothing for Rios, after all this time.

"Financial flexibility at a time when the game is changing". Yeah, so I'm pretty pissed as a fan right now. Not a huge Rios fan, but this is a joke to me.
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Gerry - Monday, August 10 2009 @ 06:32 PM EDT (#204365) #
Rios thread now active
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westcoast dude - Tuesday, August 11 2009 @ 12:54 PM EDT (#204504) #
If the Rios salary dump equates with signing Jake Marisnick, then that's a good trade.
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John Northey - Tuesday, August 11 2009 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#204525) #
If MLB budgets have been cut drastically and teams are not signing picks this year I wonder how stacked the 2010 draft will be?  Could it make sense for the Jays to not sign a first round pick and hope for better luck in 2010 with their bonus pick for not signing him?  I doubt it makes sense, but I wonder if teams are seriously debating that right now.
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Forkball - Tuesday, August 11 2009 @ 06:53 PM EDT (#204555) #
Keith Law mentioned somewhere on ESPN recently that 2010 isn't any better, and might be worse than the 2009 draft class (although apparently the 2011 draft is stacked), and that a prospect today is better than a prospect tomorrow.
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Gerry - Wednesday, August 12 2009 @ 06:00 PM EDT (#204624) #
Baseball America says Jenkins has signed.
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Mike Green - Wednesday, August 12 2009 @ 10:12 PM EDT (#204639) #
For $9,000 more than slot.  If you're going to go over slot and irritate Chairman Bud, you've got to make it worth your while. :)
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92-93 - Thursday, August 13 2009 @ 12:55 AM EDT (#204647) #
Jenkins' management isn't looking out for his best interests. He ended up signing for slot, so why not sign right away and get the development under way?
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China fan - Thursday, August 13 2009 @ 05:19 AM EDT (#204650) #
Doesn't the same point apply to most of the top picks, not just Jenkins?  Riddle me this:  it seems that the teams delay the announcement of most of their top draft signings until the last possible minute, a few days before the deadline, so that the contracts can be coordinated and nobody is too far out of line.  But this means that the young players are missing a couple months of playing experience in the summer.  So, in order to save a bit of money, the players lose a summer of playing time with their new coaches and new teams.  I don't understand it, but maybe someone else can explain it.
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TamRa - Thursday, August 13 2009 @ 02:29 PM EDT (#204665) #
JP was quoted by Bastian as saying, essentially, they were ready to sign players long ago and it's the players/agents who are holding out to the deadline.

He spoke of trying to cite Cecil and Zep as examples of what happens when you go ahead and get to work but no one bit on that.


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John Northey - Thursday, August 13 2009 @ 05:41 PM EDT (#204681) #
It seems to me that MLB teams are holding the line on the bonus' a lot better than anyone (especially agents) ever dreamed.  I suspect agents all figured teams would give up on slot and just do whatever due to how valuable picks can be in the long run.  However, instead teams are noticing that if you wait it out the worst case is you get a high pick next year.  Not as good as signing a guy this year, but not the same pressure to give in as before thus removing a big chunk of leverage from the player and shifting it back to the owners.

In the end I just hope the Jays sign all their key guys and the rest of the AL East doesn't :)

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metafour - Friday, August 14 2009 @ 04:51 PM EDT (#204740) #
Jenkins' management isn't looking out for his best interests. He ended up signing for slot, so why not sign right away and get the development under way?

No, it really wasn't for slot.  The big hold up was that Jenkins wasn't going to sign for less than the #21 pick (Mier) who signed for slightly more than what slot SHOULD have been for the #20 pick.  Mier got an above-slot bonus, the joke now is that the MLB is refusing to announce his bonus as over slot because they are for whatever reason now using a new method of calculating the slot, a method they have never used before.  Basically the MLB is trying to make it seem like these kids are signing for slot.

According to the MLB (and thus us) Jenkins signed for slot, but thats only because the MLB is now playing with mumbers to make it look that way.  Jenkins signed for slightly above-slot, basically a bit more than what Mier got (who also signed for above-slot).
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John Northey - Friday, August 14 2009 @ 04:59 PM EDT (#204741) #
As always http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=tor is your source for who is signed and when although it is missing Jenkins still with just 2 guys signed since July 1st in addition to Jenkins.

Checking the other AL East teams...
NY: Doesn't list anyone signed which obviously isn't the case.  They failed to sign their top 3 picks from last year though so maybe they finally are getting cheap in the draft.
Boston: Has only 2 of their top 13 listed as signed (round 2 & 5), none since June 22nd although they did sign their 50th (and final) pick.
Tampa: Hasn't signed their top 5 picks yet.
Baltimore: Signed their #1-3-6-12 picks but no others in the first 12 rounds.

Of note: Oakland hasn't signed its top 3 picks, but the Angels have signed 4 of its top 6 including their first 2 picks.  White Sox 1 of 7, Detroit hasn't signed their first 2 picks, etc. (just shift the link's last few letters to the team code to get the draft choices for that team).

It really looks like a lot of non-signing going on as the deadline fast approaches.
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John Northey - Friday, August 14 2009 @ 05:10 PM EDT (#204742) #
One more link...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/news/2009/268711.html

Lists all those who haven't signed yet.  For the Jays round/name/position/status.

1s: James Paxton, lhp  Seeking over-slot bonus
2: Jake Eliopoulos, lhp May get over-slot bonus
3: Jake Marisnick, of May get over-slot bonus
6: K.C. Hobson, of May get over-slot bonus

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Thomas - Saturday, August 15 2009 @ 12:44 AM EDT (#204751) #
Lists all those who haven't signed yet. For the Jays round/name/position/status.

All those in the top ten rounds only. And you missed Barrett, who also hasn't signed. That list doesn't provide much of an update over what we already knew, which was that most of our top unsigned players are likely seeking over-slot bonuses.

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John Northey - Saturday, August 15 2009 @ 11:19 AM EDT (#204760) #
Thomas, the one thing I got is what is implied by the wording.

James Paxton 'seeking' over-slot = Jays not likely to offer what he wants.

Jake Eliopoulos, Jake Marisni, K.C. Hobson, listed as 'may get over-slot bonus' suggests they are likely to sign.

As you said, nothing we didn't already suspect but provides another source saying the same thing.
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damos - Saturday, August 15 2009 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#204770) #
In Law's recent chat, he said something to the effect that he expected that the Jays would be able to sign 4 of their top 5 picks remaining - Paxton, Eliopoulos, Barrett, Marisnick & Hobson.   Asked later about which one he thought might be the toughest to sign, he guessed that Marisnick might be the odd one out. 

On his twitter Marisnick says he doesn't expect to know until the 17th & also says: "i told all the teams how much it would take to pass on school. If it doesnt happen im excited about Oregon."




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damos - Saturday, August 15 2009 @ 04:17 PM EDT (#204771) #
Oh & the news of the Jays signing Jenkins is ....still on the MLB homepage @ ESPN & it says the story was updated today. 

This line appears in the write up (guessing it's the update): "Toronto continues negotiating with supplemental first-round pick James Paxton, and second-round selection Jake Eliopoulos."
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Thomas - Saturday, August 15 2009 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#204774) #

<i>James Paxton 'seeking' over-slot = Jays not likely to offer what he wants.</i>

<p>Paxton was known to be seeking overslot from before the draft. I wouldn't read into it that the Jays aren't likely to meet his price unless it said "Is likely to go back to Kentucky [or other college]" as it has said for several other players. I don't know if Paxton will sign, but I think the Jays are willing to pony up more than a supplemental round draftpick would get in a slotted system.

<P>Meanwhile, the Nationals have said that there is a "very real possibility" they will not sign Strasburg. The team said they have offered him a record contract for a draft pick, but they're not willing to rework the entire system, which is what Boras seems to want.

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