According to a source close to the negotiations the Braves will not sign 18th-round selection Zach Alvord, and will instead reroute that money to a possible run at a waiver claim on Aramis Ramirez. The Braves had an agreement in place to sign Alvord, and have had an agreement for weeks since just after the draft.
While Alvord's bonus demands were high, they were not outrageous, and he had even agreed to a lower bonus in the form of a hometown discount in order to sign with Atlanta. He was asking for just under seven figures, a number that would have been less than first round money, but more than Matt Lipka received as a supplemental pick by Atlanta. The deal was simply being held until today due to its over-slot nature.
According to the source the Braves pulled the deal after the injury to Chipper Jones in order to save money for a run at a higher priced waiver claim. The source indicated that the Braves are in talks with the Cubs to try and acquire third baseman Aramis Ramirez in a waiver deal if he is able to get through. If Ramirez gets blocked, then the Braves may go after another high-priced waiver claim.
As was reported earlier, Stefan Sabol, the Braves 17th-round pick, will also not be signed by Atlanta. Though there is no indication that he had a deal on the table as well, there is a strong possibility that there was a potential for a deal and for the same reasons the Alvord deal fell apart, Sabol's did too.