by Mark Bowman – MLB.com
Though Bryce Elder slid to the fifth round, the University of Texas right-hander still received the third-round money he was seeking.
Per MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Elder and the Braves agreed to terms on an over-slot signing bonus worth $850,000. Atlanta has now signed each of the four players it selected in the 2020 MLB Draft. The club has not yet confirmed this agreement.
When the Braves selected Elder in the fifth round, it was apparent he would need more than the $336,600 assigned to the slot where he was picked. The club created the flexibility necessary to make this possible by giving under-slot deals to first-round pick Jared Shuster and third-round pick Jesse Franklin.
Shuster agreed to a $2,197,500 signing bonus. This is $542,800 less than the bonus pool slot value assigned to the 25th overall pick this year. Franklin agreed to a bonus worth $497,500, or $101,600 less than the slot value assigned to his third-round selection.
The under-slot sum of these two deals was $644,400. Even after committing $3,146,800 to Shuster, Franklin and fourth-round pick Spencer Strider, the Braves still had $981,000 within their bonus pool allotment. This created plenty of flexibility for Elder, who had hoped to be selected within the first three rounds.
The bonus pool allotments for third-round picks ranged from $577,000 to $857,400.
Earlier this week, Elder reminisced about quitting baseball in the fifth grade and regaining an appreciation for it only after a high school coach permitted him to pitch and be on the school’s golf team at the same time.
“It played out different than I thought,” Elder said. “But I’m comfortable with where I’m at and I’m ready to go.”
Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.
