MLB teams look for cheap help | The Salt Lake Tribune

Now that is a discount.

“They called me that Tuesday morning and said, ‘Hey, we want a senior in the seventh round or the 10th round that will sign for $1,000. Would you do it?’ ” Kraus recalled. “I said: Yeah.’ “

Signing bonuses have dropped for many top picks in this year’s amateur draft, the first under restrictive rules adopted in baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement. Teams face penalties if they exceed specified totals for their bonuses.

As a result, some clubs selected players they knew they could sign for close to nothing.

Kraus was taken with the 241st pick overall, assigned a value of $143,000 in baseball’s labor contract. If he had not signed, the Red Sox would have seen the cash from his slot deducted from their total.