According to Baseball America's Draft Blog, the D-Rays have stepped up and signed #1 overall pick pitcher David Price. Here's the particulars...
"Price will receive a $5.6 million bonus as part of a six-year major league contract worth a guaranteed $8.5 million and possibly as much as $11.25 million.
Price's bonus is the second-largest in draft history, behind only the $6.1 million Justin Upton got from the Diamondbacks as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. The guaranteed value of Price's contract is the third-highest in draft annals, trailing only Mark Prior ($10.5 million, Cubs) and Mark Teixeira ($9.5 million, Rangers) from the 2001 draft." So what of our beloved Orioles? Apparently, the team's offer is moving north. A poster on Roch's blog at The (Baltimore) Sun quotes BaseballAmerica.com as saying the O's are offering $8 million, but I can't find that on the free part of BaseballAmerica.com's site.
Use this entry to vent, share your optimism or post the latest news. At 11:59:59 p.m. tonight, this will be decided one way or another.
Update [2007-8-15 22:28:59 by duck]: BaseballAmerica.com is now saying the O's have indeed offered a contract of over $8 million, and just under the value of #1 pick David Price, but Boars is sticking to his demands of $10+ million. I say this again - he will NEVER see a $10 million contract as a draftee, not this year or next. But someone else next year will give him the same $8 million we're offering this year, and it will, with our luck, be Boston or New York.
Update [2007-8-15 22:34:13 by duck]:The (Baltimore) Sun has different details than BBA, but the same conclusion - it ain't happening. "As of 10 p.m., the club remained at an impasse with Georgia Tech junior catcher Matt Wieters, whom the Orioles selected with the fifth pick overall. A club source said the team had few substantive talks today with Wieters or his advisor, Boras, and, in the late afternoon, the sides remained approximately $5 million apart. The Orioles have offered about $6 million and Wieters is seeking a contract worth about $11 million."