From the Tennessean:
Former Vanderbilt left-hander Mike Minor and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a contract that includes the largest bonus awarded to a Braves draftee and the largest bonus ever given to a No. 7 pick, Nashville-based agent Bo McKinnis said Wednesday.
The signing bonus is worth $2.42 million, which exceeds the $2.2 million that former Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur got in 2002 and the $2.4 million that Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder signed for as the seventh pick in '02.
Wow. We over-drafted a guy and then we over-paid him. Let's hope the Braves scouts see something in Minor that no one else does.
Interestingly, the $2.42 mil is exactly the 2008 recommended slot bonus. $2.178 is the 2009 recommended bonus. The holdout was likely to force the Braves into paying last year's slot. This type of holdout was alluded to last month by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
Minor will report to the Braves complex in Orlando and get his arm in shape. He and his agent are apparently angling for him to participate in the Arizona Fall League this year. That might be a reach, but for $2.42 mil I say he should be ready.