Wise Kraken 39.2032: Kraken To Sign Second Rounder

[aaronweiner]

In a surprising turnaround, the Carolina Kraken are now expected to sign the #37 overall pick Juan Gomez, a 17 year old who played for the Mobil Pegasus last season. Gomez, who had 137 strikeouts in 115 innings for Mobil, is expected to sign a $1.5 million bonus.

"We are pleased to announce that Juan Gomez and we have reached a signing bonus agreement today," said Kraken GM Aaron Weiner. "We thought we had reached an impasse, but we were able to re-establish negotiations and have signed this talented young man."

Gomez was thought to be asking for too much money, as the slot bonus at #37 is $770,000 and Gomez was asking for double that amount, $1.5 million. However, in the wake of Carolina's recent trade involving Manny Vargas, the team opened up almost $8 million in cash, which allowed them to sign Perez.

"We also considered the history of mid-second rounders and thought it was unnecessary to hold onto the pick another year; we didn't think we could get a better player than him," said Weiner. "With expansion, it has become tougher to find a real bargain in the second round, and while Juan's bonus demands were steep we felt we wouldn't get a better player."

Gomez already throws in the mid-90s and is believed to be the sort of player who would be even more valuable with a bump in velocity. A classical fastball-slider-curveball player, Gomez could gain a rotation or bullpen spot for the Kraken in the future.

"I am pleased that Carolina changed their minds," said Gomez. "If I hadn't signed with them I was set to go to Gillette on a scholarship, but signing for this kind of money will change my life."