Cubs Terms With Cade Townsend Less Than Expected, Ink Four Other 2026 Draft Picks

The Chicago Cubs have officially inked Cade Townsend, the club's 2026 first-round draft pick, to a deal.

The team announced via a media release on Friday that it had agreed to terms with Townsend, along with four other draft picks.

The Cubs did not disclose the terms of the deal, but MLB's Jim Callis reported that the signing bonus carries a value of $3.1 million, which is under the slot value for a No. 23 overall pick by about $800,000.

1st-rder Cade Townsend signs w/@Cubs for $3.1 million (slot 23 value = $3,947,600). @OleMissBB RHP, 94-97 mph fastball w/carry, VG feel to spin power curveball & slider, feel for a cutter & changeup too. Immediately becomes best pitching prospect in system. pic.twitter.com/2rPqFHpswk
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 17, 2026

Along with Townsend, the Cubs also agreed to terms with four more college pitchers: third-rounder Carson Jasa from the University of Nebraska, fourth-rounder Dylan Marionneaux from Northwestern State, seventh-rounder Cole Tryba out of UC Santa Barbara and 10th-rounder Luke Alwood from Seattle University.

Callis also reported that Jasa agreed to a $750,000 bonus, just under the No. 98 slot value of $800,000.

3rd-rder Carson Jasa signs w/@Cubs for $750k (slot 98 value = $800k). @HuskerBaseball RHP owns some of the nastiest breaking stuff in @MLBDraft, downer 78-82 mph curveball & upper-80s slider. To 98 mph w/fastball that needs more command. Interesting arm for pitching-needy Cubs. pic.twitter.com/q7dBSKU1Ad
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 17, 2026

Notable Cubs draftees who have not signed yet include second-rounders Caden Sorrell and Myles Bailey. Both are exciting college bats — Sorrell is a junior from Texas A&M and Bailey is a sophomore from Florida State. The combined value of the picks would amount to around $2.61 million, per MLB's draft tracker.

MLB teams still have until July 27 at 4 p.m. CT to sign more draft picks. If a player has used all his college eligibility, he can sign any time up to one week before the 2027 draft.

MLB Draft Bonus Pool and Slot Value Explained

Since 2012, MLB has allocated a total bonus pool sum to all 30 teams that they use to sign draftees. Each pick in the first 10 rounds is assigned a value.

The Cubs' bonus pool total is $9,644,100 in 2026. That means the team can spend that value or less on signing picks without incurring a penalty. However, the Cubs are one of the teams that have always exceeded the bonus pool, meaning they have to pay a tax depending on the percentage they went over. Teams will also lose draft picks if they surpass their pool by more than 5%.

Essentially, signing a player at under-slot value, as they did with Townsend, means the Cubs are saving money to allocate elsewhere in the draft. For example, they signed 2025 first-rounder Ethan Conrad for $3.5 million while the No. 17 slot was worth $4.7 million.

That allowed them to give sixth-rounder Josiah Hartshorn an over-slot signing bonus of $2 million, which was a record for a sixth-round pick. The slot value at No. 181 overall was around $355,800. That move lured Hartshorn away from his college commitment to Texas A&M and straight to the pros, where he's now the Cubs' No. 2 prospect and quickly rising up MLB Pipeline's Top 100 ranks.

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