Hundreds on hold as result of event cut to five rounds
New York
They sat anxiously by their phones, computers and TVs, hoping to hear their names called.
Instead, the waiting continues for hundreds of young baseball players.
Major League Baseball's amateur draft wrapped up Thursday night, shaved to only five rounds over two days from the usual 40 rounds over three because of the coronavirus pandemic — a move that figures to save teams about $30 million. So, instead of more than 1,200 players celebrating the start of their professional careers, only 160 can do so right now.
For the rest, they must carefully weigh their options. And, so do teams.
Major league clubs are scouring their draft boards and scouting reports while trying to identify the best of the remaining talent around the country.
"The fact we were only able to scout four college weekends and the high school kids, many of whom we didn't see in their spring seasons, it's difficult," said Paul Toboni, the Boston Red Sox director of amateur scouting. "There's a lot more uncertainty than there would be in a normal spring."
Instead of the typical free-for-all immediately after the draft when teams race to add undrafted players to fill out their minor league squads, teams must wait until Sunday to start negotiating with and signing players not taken.
Teams are permitted to sign an unlimited number of undrafted players. But, clubs are limited to offering maximum signing bonuses of only $20,000. And the prospect of not having anywhere to play in the pros anytime soon could alter some players' plans.
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June 13, 2020 at 09:14AM
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Wait continues for undrafted players - Albany Times Union
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