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Deadline nears for Posey, MLB draft signees

• Friday is Major League Baseball’s deadline for Leesburg’s Buster Posey and the 2008 draft signees taken June 5 to either ink a contract or make other plans.

Danny Aller

Shortly after former Lee County turned Florida State baseball star Buster Posey was chosen No. 5 overall by the San Francisco Giants in the June 5 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the team’s director of player personnel, Bobby Evans, was quoted in an article as saying, “Normally, we like to give a kid time to catch his breath” before the negotiation period begins.

Well, with four days left until Aug. 15 — the MLB deadline for all drafted players to sign a contract by their chosen team — that clock has just about struck midnight for both sides.

Although, it still doesn’t appear unusual that Posey — the 2008 Golden Spikes Award winner, among many others — hasn’t signed yet; eight of the top 11 picks haven’t signed, while a little less than half of the top 30 have come to terms.

According to MLB.com, last year, seven of the first 30 picks waited until the day of the deadline before signing.

Posey, nor his representative, Jeff Berry, could be reached for comment on the status of negotiations Monday, while Evans was on the road with the Giants as they began a series with the Houston Astros and also was unavailable.

While seeking official comment, a member of the Giants’ media relations staff did tell The Herald, “As of right now, there aren’t really any updates. We’ll certainly know more by Friday.”

The Giants, however, do appear to be negotiating with their draft picks after signing 2008 supplemental round draft pick and third baseman Conor Gillaspie of Wichita State late last week.

That brought San Francisco’s total draft signings up to 14 of its first 19 selections, though Gillaspie is the only signee so far among the club’s top four picks.

Gillaspie signed for a reported $975,000 contract — a far cry from the price tag of $12 million Posey was seeking according to an ESPN report on draft day, although that report was never confirmed by either the Giants or Posey.

Of those first-round picks who have already agreed to deals, most notably was No. 1 overall selection from Georgia’s Griffin High School, phenom Tim Beckham, who inked a $6.15

million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Should Posey and the Giants not agree by the deadline, the FSU junior could do one of two things: Return to the Seminoles for his senior season, or opt to play baseball for an independent league and re-enter the draft next season.

That former possibility is more likely, according to comments Posey made to The Herald during an April interview.

"It would matter where I was selected and what kind of deal I was offered, and if it was fair,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that no matter where I was selected, however, I’m leaving (FSU) for (the majors).”

The signing delay also likely has some to do with an MLB rule change in 2007 that says lengthened negotiation timetable for draft picks. Instead of the previous deadline of 51 weeks, teams now have until 11:59 p.m. on the night of the deadline, which in this case is Friday.

Evans, on the team’s Web site, said the process is normal.

As for why he felt some selections hadn’t been signed yet, he said: "When players first go through the draft, they have expectations as to what they’ll get depending on where they’re chosen."

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