I snuck this in yesterday at the very bottom — because news hit just as I was hitting the “Publish” button — but it’s worth repeating as a topline note. The Giants signed James Tibbs III, their top pick of the 2024 draft, to a deal worth $4.7 million. That number represents a savings below the slot of about half a million dollars, which should give them plenty of buffer to reel in their second pick, 4th rounder Dakota Jordan, bringing two more high upside bats to the system.
For those of you who are interested in the signing machinations, here is my back of the envelope spreadsheet following the money:
Just to review the rules quickly, we’re primarily concerned with the top 10 rounds. Each of those top 10 picks comes with its own slot value and the total of those values adds up to the team’s bonus pool. Teams are allowed to go over that by up to 5% (actually, any number under exactly 5%), and the Giants always use that allowable overage. For picks 11-20, the team can sign picks for up to $150,000 without it affecting their pool. Any bonus over that amount comes from the bonus pool, however.
To make things simpler, I’ve included the entire slot value for the Giants 4th and 5th round picks in their current “savings.” At this point, with all of the other top 10 round picks signed, they have an unused portion of their bonus pool amounting to $2,031,350. Adding in the allowable overage, there is just a little over $2.4 million left to play with. I’d assume that Christian signs for somewhere in the $400,000 range, leaving about $2 million that can go to Jordan. The monkey wrench in all of that is Ure and Zwitalski, who could each be looking for something north of $150,000 (especially Ure, who is returning from Tommy John, throws absolute gas from the left side, and could bet on himself and his ability to pop up into the upper rounds of next year’s draft). So we’ll see if those two get signed at the end of this.
Of course, it’s fun to watch the money, but the most important thing here is that a real talent has joined the organization. Tibbs and Jordan represent two very different sorts of high upside hitter, with Tibbs bringing a reasonably safe floor and Jordan representing a cathedral-high ceiling, but extreme risk of reaching it.
Welcome, Mr. Tibbs! Congratulations on your big day. We can’t wait to see you get to work. Enjoy sitting in the owners’ box at Oracle this weekend!
HITTER of the NIGHT: Ryan Reckley (ACL), 2 for 3, 2b, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
PITCHER of the NIGHT: Jack Choate (Eug), 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
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