From Bama Beat, a blog that covers Alabama football, an update on the negotiations with Nationals 2008 2nd rounder Destin Hood
In Hood’s case, he has yet to sign with the Washington Nationals, who drafted him in the second round and are reportedly throwing big money to lure him away from a football scholarship as a wide receiver for the Crimson Tide.
As of yet, however, it may not be big enough. I spoke last night with Hood’s father Dewayne, who said negotations with the Nats remain ongoing and could drag on until the Aug. 15 deadline.
I’ve thought all along that Hood was all but certain to play pro baseball and his signing is a mere formality. I still feel that way — Hood’s baseball interest “hasn’t changed at all,” his father last night — though a scholarship from Nick Saban can make a handy bargaining chip when speaking to a (very needy) big league club that invested such a high draft pick in you.
Think this topic is not important up there? Hood’s visit to D.C. in late June made headlines in the Washington Post.
So it may take a little longer, but continue to look for Hood to play pro baseball and get rather rich doing it. In one way, he’s already made his decision. Should things fall through with Washington, Hood wouldn’t even get to UA until right before the Clemson game, meaning he would start out in the back of the line for Alabama’s talented receiving crop. His impact as a freshman would figure to be minimal at best.
JammingEcono | 08-Jul-08 at 4:19 pm | Permalink
Any thoughts on the Michael Burgess classification report currently being flocked on the front page of BaseballAmerica.com? (I’m lame and don’t have a subscription…)
Brian Oliver | 08-Jul-08 at 4:28 pm | Permalink
A couple of quotes from Bobby Williams …
“He is adjusting well to his first full season. We challenged him by putting him the South Atlantic League as a 19-year old and he is handling the challenge fine.”
“He has swung the bat well. He is an aggressive hitter. He has shown impressive power so far and has shown that he can drive the ball out of the park to all fields.”
“His strikeouts are high but not a huge concern. He should cut down on his strikeouts in the second half as he continues to improve. He has a pretty good idea of the strike zone and very good plate coverage. Like any young hitter though, he will chase pitches out of the zone at times. He has tremendous bat speed and special power. He tends to overswing at times, which creates swings and misses but he is learning that he doesn’t always have to swing as hard as he can for the ball to go out.”
Pilchard | 08-Jul-08 at 4:41 pm | Permalink
I have little doubt that the Nats will sign Hood. With the way that this season is gone, the Nats need to continue to show tangible evidence that they are investing in player development. FWIW, I think that the Nats will cave on Crow and sign him to a huge deal.
Sec 204 Row K Seat 1 | 08-Jul-08 at 4:46 pm | Permalink
If Brother Hood does not sign but goes late to Bama pre season practice, he will have screwed himself twice. I too believe he will sign. It was always go to be Augus with Crow.
Positively Half St. | 08-Jul-08 at 5:28 pm | Permalink
I have more trust in the team about draft picks since they paid up last year. Also, if Angelos was willing to cave as he did with Wieters (good results so far), and since the rest of the Plan is slow to ripen, the HAVE to sign everybody.
expo_ram | 08-Jul-08 at 5:43 pm | Permalink
Alabama has the #1 WR recruit coming in next year along with some other highly touted skill guys from their #1 recruiting class. If memory serves, Hood wasn’t considered one of the jewels from Bama’s class, so I think he might even be made to redshirt if he goes to Bama.
JD | 09-Jul-08 at 7:37 am | Permalink
The Nats will probably still sign Hood (and others), but they are wasting a season of his development by negotiating this way. I dont’ think they miss much with the college pitchers, but I think the high school guys need to be playing this season.
Brian Oliver | 09-Jul-08 at 8:26 am | Permalink
JD - I agree that it’s a better idea to get the bats, especially the HS bats in quickly.
But in these negotiations, we have no idea what the real hang up is. If the Nationals are low-balling or sticking around slot without budging, that’s an issue the Nationals should not place themselves in. But if the hold up is on the side of the drafted player asking for an out-of-whack bonus and not budging, it makes some sense to not immediately give in.
JD | 09-Jul-08 at 9:11 am | Permalink
Brian,
I agree but it seems a little fishy to me that all of our top 5 draftees have not yet signed. I have no idea what really is being offered or asked for, but it just smells like the Nats sticking to slot.
Dick | 09-Jul-08 at 2:39 pm | Permalink
JD: Why wouldn’t you stick to slot through early July? Certainly, every other team is. There don’t appear to be more than a couple of guys who have been signed above slot so far in the entire draft. Xavier Avery of the O’s being one of them. It does the Nats no good to establish a reputation as a team that always pays a premium.
That said, decisions will need to be made in August when the alternative may be losing the player. In the case of Destin Hood, it is hard to imagine how he could turn down slot money (say, $765,000) redshirt as a football player when all is said and done.
While it makes sense to get the bats in quickly as Brian notes, it is a two-way street. As Jim Bowden said last year to Michael Burgess, a delay in signing delays the draftee’s advancement towards the big leagues, arbitration and free agency. It probably doesn’t matter that much to the Nats if, say, Destin Hood makes the bigs in 2011 or 2012. If Hood turns out good enough to have a long career, he will never be able to get back the year in his early 20s that he spent in the minors as a result of missing a year of development while holding out. On the other hand, I suspect the Nats will still be around long after Destin Hood is forgotten!