Indians Sign Mike Papi

Former Virginia Cavaliers Mike Papi is now officially a member of the Cleveland Indians organization. Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

While the Cleveland Indians enjoyed an off day yesterday, the front office was hard at work as they officially singed a few recent draft picks.  The first (though second one announced) was 8th round pick Micah Miniard, a Kentucky HS pitcher, whom they signed for $350K (well over slot).  Now if you recall from the previous draft update, Micah Miniard was listed as signed and for $350K.  No, I’m not a psychic or have some special inside information.  The amount he would sign for has been known for quite some time; however, the Indians waited to have him sign until today. While the official reason for this is unkown, the most likely reason is the Indians were leaving themselves some room for error should their other signing today have had a change of heart and failed to sign.  The second signing was their competitive balance pick Mike Papi, OF/1B from the University of Virigina.  Papi agreed to a $1.25M bonus, which was one of the largest under slot deals for the Tribe this year (3rd largest by percentage).  Papi was kind enough to provide physical proof of the signing via his twitter account:

Here’s an updated breakdown of the top 10 round picks:

The Tribe is still over their draft allotment, though now only $121,200 instead of the $366,600 from before.  The Indians will still be on the hook for a tax penalty on that amount; however, by signing Papi for $245K under slot they ultimately saved themselves over $400K.

In addition to the Papi and Miniard announcements, the Indians also made official the signing of 37th round pick Juan Gomes, the younger brother of Tribe catcher Yan Gomes.  While I have not seen the dollar figure, one can safely assume it’ll be for $100K or under.  The Indians have now signed all their top 15 picks and 27 out of their 42 overall.  There are still two weeks left before the July 18th signing deadline.