MLB Draft Bonuses Down From Record Levels Last Year In Wake Of New CBA

MLB teams spent $207.8M on draft bonuses in ‘12, the “second-highest total ever,” according to data compiled by Jim Callis of BASEBALL AMERICA. The record total was "set a year ago, when the clubs combined to spend” $228M on bonuses and another $8.1M on guaranteed salaries as part of MLB contracts. With new draft rules "allocating specific bonus pools and prescribing harsh draft-pick penalties to teams that exceeded them by more than 5 percent, several clubs changed their shopping patterns.” The Pirates and Nationals were the “two biggest draft spenders” under the old CBA, which covered the ‘07-'11 seasons. With the Pirates failing to come to terms with Stanford P Mark Appel, the No. 8 overall pick, the club dropped from a record $17M last year to $3.8M this year. The Twins and Astros “ranked in the bottom third in bonus spending under the old CBA,” but with the top two draft slots and bonus pools this year, the two franchises led all clubs by paying $12.6M and $12.0M in bonuses, respectively. The Twins handed out the top bonus this year, with No. 2 overall pick OF Byron Buxton receiving $6M, which is tied with five others for the 10th highest bonus all-time. Listed below is MLB Draft bonus spending by team for ’12, with comparisons to last season, as well as the average for each team under the old CBA from ’07-11 (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 7/18).