Contract updates on recent UCLA baseball draftees
The Bruins made headlines at this year's MLB Draft, and they aren’t done yet.
They wound up with a first-rounder in back-to-back-to-back drafts for the first time in program history, heard 10 of their players’ names called across the first 20 rounds and led the nation in players drafted.
The next step in that process is already underway, as several UCLA baseball draftees have signed on the dotted line to officially join the organizations that picked them. Fourth-round first baseman JT Schwartz was the first Bruin to sign, inking a $475,000 deal with the New York Mets on Tuesday.
Following in Schwartz’s footsteps were Tampa Bay Rays 11th-rounder Sean Mullen and Minnesota Twins 15th-rounder Mikey Perez, both of whom signed contracts of undisclosed amounts Wednesday. Mets seventh-rounder Kevin Kendall signed a $200,000 deal Thursday, the same day Miami Marlins 11th-rounder Jesse Bergin signed his own contract.
That leaves five UCLA players unsigned: Cincinnati Reds first-rounder Matt McLain, Los Angeles Dodgers fourth-rounder Nick Nastrini, Twins eighth-rounder Noah Cardenas, Houston Astros 15th-rounder Adrian Chaidez and Cleveland Indians 16th-rounder Zach Pettway.
So far, both Bruins whose contract details have been made public signed for less than the designated bonus slot – Schwartz $47,600 below his $522,600 mark and Kendall $27,700 under the suggested $227,700 figure. McLain is set to receive the largest signing bonus of any UCLA player this year, with his slot getting tabbed at $3.6 million.
The deadline for drafted players to sign with the teams who picked them is Aug. 1.
Eight Bruins went undrafted last week as well, leaving their statuses for next spring up in the air as well. Only one is guaranteed ineligible to return to Westwood next season – reliever Kyle Mora, who signed a deal with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Professional Baseball on Wednesday.
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