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The Nationals wound their negotiations with their top four draft picks down to the wire again. And once again, they shelled out a staggering sum of money to land the players they took early in the June draft. But once again, they got their men.
According to a club source, the team signed Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon (the sixth overall pick), Kentucky pitcher Alex Meyer (No. 23 overall), Miami Dade College outfielder Brian Goodwin (No. 34) and third-round pick Matt Purke, the TCU left-hander many predicted would be the toughest of their top picks for the Nationals to land.
Purke, who was projected to go in the first round and might have been a top-five pick had he gone back to school, slipped to the third round because of concerns about a shoulder injury. Nonetheless, he got a four-year, $4.4 million major league deal, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis - a total package that rivaled what UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick, got when he signed with the Diamondbacks last month.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman, Goodwin got a $3 million signing bonus as part of a minor league deal. And Baseball America reported that Meyer got a $2 million bonus.
Update: Heyman also reports Rendon will be getting a major league contract worth $7.2 million.
More details as they become available.
