ATLANTA — With their highest pick in the draft in nearly 30 years comes the Cardinals' highest draft bonus in a long time, too.
The Cardinals and infielder JJ Wetherholt, the seventh overall selection in this past week's draft, reached agreement on a $6.9-million bonus and are finalizing his first pro contract, sources told the Post-Dispatch. That would be among the highest draft bonuses ever for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals have not announced an agreement and do not comment on such things until they are announced.
A wave of draft signings and announcements is expected at some point from the club as they work their way through finalizing agreements with picks.
Entering the college baseball season, Wetherholt was viewed by industry publications as a potential first overall selection, and even as this past week's Major League Baseball Draft approached some of those same publications had mock drafts with Wetherholt going first overall.
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The Cardinals believed the left-handed-hitting infielder who batted better than .400 as a sophomore for West Virginia would be taken well ahead of their No. 7 pick.
As the first round unfolded, the Cardinals became thrilled with the possibility of Wetherholt being available and, as pick No. 6 arrived, had either him or Florida two-way standout Jac Caglianone as their likely pick. The Kansas City Royals selected Caglianone at six, giving the Cardinals the chance to select a player they had been intrigued by for several years and in their preparation for the draft.
The slot value for No. 7 was $6,823,700 as set by the commissioner's office as a guideline. This year's first-round trend had been to go over slot with two picks already setting and then tying the record for the largest draft bonus in years.
The possibility that Wetherholt could go earlier in the draft is reflected in the above-slot bonus he received. He slipped in the draft in part because of the severe hamstring injury he had during his junior year that limited him to 36 games. A .370 hitter in his career at WVU, Wetherholt hit .331/.472/.589 this past season. He had eight home runs and 16 extra-base hits. In his career at WVU, Wetherholt had as many walks (82) as strikeouts (82) in 142 games.
The 21-year-old will begin his career with the Cardinals as a shortstop, though a move to second base is possible. At the MLB Draft event in Arlington, Texas, he told the Post-Dispatch he's comfortable playing multiple positions and then listed just about all of them. Â
Teams use below-slot signings to balance their overages. Going beyond the assigned bonus purse costs the team a tax on the overage, and the Cardinals are one of four teams to have spent beyond their purse in each of the past 12 drafts.
The last time the Cardinals selected in the top 10 was 1998 when they selected outfielder J. D. Drew with the No. 5 pick. Drew signed a $7-million contract with the Cardinals and made his major-league debut later that same season.