MLB Teams Spend Record $392.5M on 2025 Draft Picks

Baseball is a game of records, though the modern fan seems to focus less on in-game production and more on extravagant paychecks.

The 30 MLB teams didn’t disappoint this month by breaking numerous spending records on their 2025 draft picks. They doled out a record $392,533,711 in signing bonuses for drafted players, $18.2 million more than the $374,345,077 paid a year ago.

Even the Cleveland Guardians, considered among the most cost-conscious clubs, set a spending record according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. They paid $4 million to first-round choice Jace Laviolette, a slugging outfielder from Texas A&M. That was about $618,000 over what MLB set as a $3.382 million recommended slot value for the No. 27 choice.

OMAHA, NE: Jace Laviolette of the Texas A&M Aggies hits a home run in the first inning against the Tennessee Volunteers during the Division I Men’s Baseball Championship at Charles Schwab Field on June 23, 2024. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

NCAA Photos via Getty Images

It was a surprising anomaly this year as only two other clubs went over the slot blueprint in the first round. Clubs more than made up for it by paying out higher values to lower picks.

A year ago, Cleveland held the No. 1 pick and paid Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana a team-record $8.95 million. That was below the MLB slot value of $10,570,600.

A few other significant monetary marks were established.

• All of the first-round choices averaged $5,334,019. The previous mark was $5,036,544 in 2024.
• No. 4 overall selection Ethan Holliday’s $9 million signing bonus from the Colorado Rockies was a record for a high school player.
• The Baltimore Orioles, with four of the first 37 selections, spent a team record $21,150,840.

Baltimore’s Bundle

The Orioles had their own choice at No. 19. They received pick No. 30 as compensation for losing free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Arizona Diamondbacks and No. 31 for losing free agent outfielder Anthony Santander to the Toronto Blue Jays. They acquired pick No. 37 from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade for reliever Bryan Baker on July 10.

Baltimore picked hard-hitting Auburn catcher Ike Irish at No. 19. His slot value was $4,420,900 and he got $4,418,400, The team claimed the $2,500 difference as a contingency bonus, meaning that amount could be saved in their overall bonus pool to be used elsewhere.

Next, the Orioles took Coastal Carolina catcher Caden Bodine 30th and paid him exact slot value of $3,113,300. The switch hitter is considered an elite defender as well as hitter. The pick enabled the club to consider switching Irish to the outfield.

One pick later, Baltimore took power-hitting Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and paid exact slot $3,042,800.

They rounded out their early cache by paying $4 million to Oregon high school outfielder Slater de Brun at No. 37. That was well above the $2,631,400 slot value for the 37th choice, but the team did it to keep him from honoring his signing commitment to play college ball at Vanderbilt.

National Treasures

High school shortstop Eli Willits was the surprise No. 1 pick by the Washington Nationals. The financial figures of his signing are somewhat surprising, too.

The slot value was $11,075,900. He got $8,200,000, a record for a prep player before Holliday broke it. But Willits’ agreeing to take less probably was a factor in being picked ahead of Holliday and other highly ranked prospects.

Washington took the money “saved” and spent it on three other prep players. Third-round choice Landon Harmon, a pitcher, and fifth-rounder Coy James, a shortstop, each got $2.5 million. Fourth-rounder Miguel Sime, a pitcher from Brooklyn, N.Y., got $2 million. Those deals were all well above slot value.

Signing Them All

Increased spending has helped MLB teams become more proficient than ever at signing their picks. This year, 576 of 615 draftees signed, a 93.7% rate that is the highest for a regular draft. Only the Covid 19 pandemic-shortened five-round 2020 draft was better, when all 160 picks signed.

How good was that 100 percent signing rate at nabbing players who made it to the Major League level? Here are the percentages and best players thus far:

• 29 of 37 (78%) of first round picks, including Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago White Sox’s Garrett Crochet (since traded to Boston), the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom, Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg and No. 1 overall choice Spencer Torkelson of Detroit.
• 16 of 35 (45%) of second-rounders, including St. Louis’ Masyn Wynn and Alex Burleson.
• 2 of 29 (6%) third-rounders.
• 6 of 30 (20%) fourth-rounders, including Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider.
• 12 of 29 (41%) fifth-rounders, including Detroit Tigers’ Colt Keith and Arizona Diamondbacks’ Brandon Pfaadt.

Sixty Years Ago

The first MLB Draft was held in 1965 and 65% (13 of 20) of the first-round picks made it to MLB, led by No. 1 choice Rick Monday of the Oakland Athletics. He signed for $100,000.

The 36th choice overall, by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round, was a high school catcher from Oklahoma – Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. He signed for $6,000.

The Los Angeles Dodgers took Tom Seaver in the 10th round and the future Hall of Famer asked for $50,000. The Dodgers offered $3,000, so he stayed at Southern Cal and was picked by the Atlanta Braves at No. 20 overall in the January 1966 draft.

Seaver signed for $40,000, but the contract was ruled illegal as his college team had already begun playing that year. That was against MLB rules, but he could not go back to USC, either, after signing a pro deal.

MLB ruled that any team other than Atlanta could submit offers of at least $40,000 with the winner literally being picked out of a hat. The Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets submitted bids. The Mets’ bid was picked and Seaver got $51,000.

What surprises are in store among players picked in the 2025 MLB Draft? Since only 615 players were chosen, it will not produce another surprise like Mike Piazza. The slugging catcher is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was selected in the 62nd round – No. 1,390 overall – by the Dodgers. He signed for $15,000. According to Baseball-reference.com, Piazza earned more then $120 million in his career.