The Nationals have signed shortstop Eli Willits, the top pick in last week’s MLB draft, making history and saving significant money at the same time.
The club completed a deal with the 17-year-old Willits with a signing bonus of $8.2 million, well below the record $11.08 million slot value for the No. 1 pick, but still an unprecedented deal for a high-school player. The bonus just surpassed the $8.19 million bonus the Orioles gave Jackson Holliday three years ago, and may soon be topped by Holliday’s younger brother, Ethan, selected at No. 4 by the Rockies.
For now, though, Willits is the standard-bearer for a non-collegiate draft pick, extending a run of history as he’s the youngest No. 1 selection since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987.
“I’ve set a goal to be in the big leagues by the time I’m 20, and that’s something I’m really excited to do,” Willits said in an introductory news conference.
While the slot values provide guidance for the signing bonuses, and there are penalties for extreme overspending beyond a team’s overall bonus pool, the deals are not entirely locked in like NFL and NBA rookie-level contracts. As a result, the Nationals, like other MLB teams, will be able to use the difference between the slot value for Willits and what he signed for on other deals.
Such a strategy unfolded in part as the Nationals also signed fourth-round pick Miguel Sime Jr. for $2 million, nearly triple the slot value of $687,800. Sime, a right-handed pitcher, will forgo a prior commitment to LSU.
The Nationals, still in the midst of a significant transition after the recent firing of president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, stunned many observers by picking Willits. Many draft mocks pointed to the team choosing LSU pitcher Kade Anderson, who is represented by powerful agent Scott Boras. Willits, instead, is represented by WME Sports, now in the process of selling its baseball business. WME’s Bryan Minniti previously worked for Rizzo at the Nationals between 2010 and 2014.
Willits’s parents also signed the Nationals contract as he won’t turn 18 until December.
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