Aaron Crow update
The clock is ticking, and things aren't looking so good for the Nationals...which means, things might be looking good for Mizzou.
9. RHP Aaron Crow, Washington Nationals
The Nationals would have loved to have had Crow in the fold shortly after the Draft and gotten straight to work with him. But he and his reps, the Hendricks brothers, are playing hardball, looking for considerably more than the $2.15 million the club gave Ross Detwiler, last year's first-rounder. This one is contentious, and it doesn't appear the Nats will budge. Crow was talking in the $8-10 million range before the Draft, and that's just not realistic.He can take his chances and go back to Missouri for another year, but next year's crop of Draft-eligible pitchers is much deeper. Crow has some leverage, but he might just use it to push himself out of a good deal. Washington signed its third- and fourth-round picks earlier this week, but the club has been adamant about not giving out a Major League contract.
While $8-$10 million is absolutely insane (without checking, I'm pretty sure it'd make him the highest-paid player in the Nationals organization), the Nationals need to sign Crow—who, unfortunately for them, has all the leverage here. Crow could contribute to the big league club as early as next year and could form a pretty solid 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation with John Lannan, and if Washington can't get him signed, they're going to continue to have pitching problems for years.
On the other side, Crow would be crazy to go back to Mizzou for another year. If he got hurt (remember this? There seems to be a decent chance of that happening), he'd drop out of the first round and lose a lot of money, even if he demanded more money as a later-round pick. It's just not worth the risk for Crow, and ultimately, his camp could fold and take a deal for much less money than he initially wanted.
The MLB.com article also writes that Orioles #4 overall pick Brian Matusz's negotiations likely will be impacted by what Crow gets—so if Crow ends up getting somewhere in the $7 million range (still pretty high), the O's might have to give Matusz a ridiculous contract. If Matusz signs before Crow and gets less than Crow wants, though, it'll give Washington a ton of leverage into signing him.
In the end, I think somebody budges—which usually happens right before the deadline—but out of all the negotiations, it seems like this one has the highest potential to fall apart and send a player back to college.
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I'm about 95% sure he signs
The Pirates are going through this with their #2 pick as well…everybody’s waiting to see what everybody else ends up getting money-wise, and then almost all of them sign 3 minutes before the deadline.
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Thrust nunchuk upward!
Complicating matters...
The White Sox signed Gordon Beckham to a $2.6 million deal earlier today. Beckham went 8, Crow 9…so if Crow thinks he’s going to get $8 million, he’s insane.
Also, Bora$$ is going to milk the Pirates for all they’re worth on Alvarez.
Will...I...be...able...to...play...softball...tomorrow?
Oh, no, Mr. Scioscia. At this time tomorrow, you'll barely be able to breathe.
by UribeAuction on Aug 13, 2008 6:42 PM CDT up reply actions
one thing the buccos have going for them...
...is that Alvarez’ family reeeeeeeaaaaaallllllllllly wants him to sign.
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Thrust nunchuk upward!
Was reading somewhere that even if Crow does not sign
that he still would not come back to Mizzou, even though evidently he would still be able to. Take that as 3rd or 4th hand knowledge, but the person seemed pretty adament about the fact that there would not be a place for Crow if he were to try to return.
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
Thinking about it...
I think you’re right. He’d probably go play in the independent league like JD Drew did.
Will...I...be...able...to...play...softball...tomorrow?
Oh, no, Mr. Scioscia. At this time tomorrow, you'll barely be able to breathe.
by UribeAuction on Aug 14, 2008 10:37 AM CDT up reply actions
I should've checked rotoworld before coming here...
Pitcher Aaron Crow, who was selected ninth overall in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft by Washington in June, signed a minor-league contract with the Fort Worth Cats on Wednesday.
Will...I...be...able...to...play...softball...tomorrow?
Oh, no, Mr. Scioscia. At this time tomorrow, you'll barely be able to breathe.
So I assume Fort Worth is Indy League?
and this is just in case?
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
It's what Hochevar did
The gamble worked for him. Verdict is pending on Crow.
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Chance McDanielson for Heisman
Matusz signe an MLB deal with a $3.2M bonus.
I do not get the feeling Crow is going to sign with the Nationals. If the Matusz deal was really holding him up it must have come as a great disappointment to Crow and Boras.
Here is the Baseball America Draft Blog story about Matusz. I did not see Matusz pitch but I did see Crow. It seems the concensus is that Matusz was the better of the two. It might just have been the weekend the Tigers were visiting Lawerence, but to me Gibson looked better than Crow.
www.rockchalktalk.com for pretty good KU baseball coverage

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