The Orioles not only own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 Draft, but they also have the second-largest bonus pool in Draft history.
Baltimore's top selection comes with an assigned value of $8,842,200, the second-highest since the bonus pool era began in 2012, trailing only the $9,015,000 worth of the Phillies' No. 1 overall choice in 2016. The Orioles' picks in each of the first 10 rounds, combined with competitive-balance choices at No. 33 (its own) and No. 67 (acquired from the Marlins earlier this month in a trade for Tanner Scott and Cole Sulser), add up to a combined value of $16,924,000. That amount trails only the Astros in '15, who had the two of the first five selections and a $17,289,200 pool.
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As part of the negotiations for the 2020 season, which was radically altered by the coronavirus pandemic, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to freeze the '19 bonus slots for both the '20 and '21 Drafts. The slots have increased by slightly more than 5 percent for '22 and will continue to rise at the same rate as MLB revenues.
In addition to the Orioles, 11 other teams have eight-figure bonus pools: the D-backs ($15,112,100), Mets ($13,955,700), Pirates ($13,733,900), Rockies ($13,660,700), Royals ($11,668,300), Nationals ($11,007,900), Reds ($10,794,100), Marlins ($10,486,000), Cubs ($10,092,700), Padres ($10,088,900) and Twins ($10,036,000). The Dodgers, who saw their top pick drop from 30 to 40 as a penalty for exceeding the competitive balance tax threshold -- and forfeited two other selections for signing free agent Freddie Freeman -- have the smallest pool at $4,221,400.
The pools for all 30 clubs total $279,850,600, up from $265,769,400 in 2021. Last year, teams spent $291,408,490 on Draft bonuses, including $32,540,100 after the 10th round. No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis signed with the Pirates for $6,500,000, while No. 2 choice Jack Leiter of the Rangers received the highest bonus in the '21 Draft at $7,922,000.
Each choice in the first 10 rounds comes with an assigned value, with the total for a club's selections equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. If a player taken in the top 10 rounds doesn't sign, his pick's value gets subtracted from his team's pool. Clubs near the top of the Draft often spend less than the assigned value for those choices and use the savings to offer more money to later selections.
Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.
In 10 Drafts with bonus pool rules, teams have outspent their allotments a total of 172 times, but never by more than 5 percent. The Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants have done so every year, and 20 of the 30 teams outspent their pools in 2021.
Bonus pools by club: Orioles: $16,924,000 D-backs: $15,112,100 Mets: $13,955,700 Pirates: $13,733,900 Rockies: $13,660,700 Royals: $11,668,300 Nationals: $11,007,900 Reds: $10,794,100 Marlins: $10,486,000 Cubs: $10,092,700 Padres: $10,088,900 Twins: $10,036,000 Guardians: $9,980,900 Rangers: $9,640,700 Blue Jays: $8,367,700 Athletics: $8,315,800 Red Sox: $8,078,300 Tigers: $8,024,900 Braves: $8,022,200 Rays: $7,795,100 Mariners: $7,254,400 Brewers: $7,070,900 Angels: $7,024,300 Cardinals: $6,842,300 Astros: $6,837,000 Yankees: $6,425,100 Phillies: $6,307,000 White Sox: $6,289,100 Giants: $5,793,200 Dodgers: $4,221,400
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Free Agent Compensation Picks: 31) Rockies: $2,429,300 32) Reds: $2,371,800
Competitive Balance Round A: 33) Orioles: $2,313,900 34) D-backs: $2,257,100 35) Royals: $2,202,100 36) Pirates: $2,149,200 37) Guardians: $2,100,700 38) Rockies: $2,051,300 39) Padres: $2,003,500
Second round: 40) Dodgers: $1,950,900 41) Red Sox: $1,905,500 42) Orioles: $1,861,000 43) D-backs: $1,817,600 44) Pirates: $1,775,200 45) Nationals: $1,733,900 46) Marlins: $1,699,500 47) Cubs: $1,660,400 48) Twins: $1,621,900 49) Royals: $1,584,100 50) Rockies: $1,544,500 51) Tigers: $1,509,800 52) Mets: $1,474,400 53) Padres: $1,439,900 54) Guardians: $1,406,400 55) Reds: $1,373,300 56) Athletics: $1,341,200 57) Braves: $1,306,700 58) Mariners: $1,275,900 59) Cardinals: $1,245,600 60) Blue Jays: $1,216,100 61) Yankees: $1,187,000 62) White Sox: $1,158,600 63) Brewers: $1,130,900 64) Astros: $1,103,600 65) Rays: $1,077,100 66) Giants: $1,054,200
Competitive Balance Round B: 67) Orioles: $1,026,300 68) Twins: $1,001,500 69) Athletics: $977,000 70) Rays: $952,800 71) Rays: $929,100 72) Brewers: $914,900 73) Reds: $900,900 74) Mariners: $887,000
Free Agent Compensation Picks: 75) Mets: $873,300 76) Braves: $859,700 77) Blue Jays: $846,500 78) Blue Jays: $833,200 79) Red Sox: $820,000 80) Astros: $806,800
Third round: 81) Orioles: $793,600 82) D-backs: $782,000 83) Pirates: $770,300 84) Nationals: $758,500 85) Marlins: $746,800 86) Cubs: $735,200 87) Royals: $724,300 88) Rockies: $713,000 89) Angels: $701,800 90) Mets: $691,000 91) Padres: $680,100 92) Guardians: $669,900 93) Phillies: $659,800 94) Reds: $649,600 95) Athletics: $641,800 96) Braves: $635,500 97) Cardinals: $629,500 98) Blue Jays: $623,200 99) Red Sox: $617,200 100) Yankees: $611,100 101) White Sox: $606,300 102) Brewers: $600,400 103) Astros: $594,300 104) Rays: $588,400 105) Dodgers: $582,400 106) Giants: $576,900
Fourth round: 107) Orioles: $571,100 108) D-backs: $565,500 109) Rangers: $560,000 110) Pirates: $554,600 111) Nationals: $549,100 112) Marlins: $543,600 113) Cubs: $538,400 114) Twins: $533,100 115) Royals: $527,800 116) Rockies: $522,700 117) Tigers: $517,700 118) Angels: $512,700 119) Mets: $507,500 120) Padres: $502,600 121) Guardians: $497,700 122) Phillies: $492,800 123) Reds: $488,100 124) Athletics: $483,300 125) Braves: $478,700 126) Mariners: $474,700 127) Cardinals: $470,100 128) Blue Jays: $465,400 129) Red Sox: $461,000 130) Yankees: $456,300 131) White Sox: $452,700 132) Brewers: $448,200 133) Astros: $443,700 134) Rays: $439,400 135) Dodgers: $435,000 136) Giants: $430,900
Fifth round: 137) Orioles: $426,600 138) D-backs: $422,400 139) Rangers: $418,200 140) Pirates: $414,300 141) Nationals: $410,200 142) Marlins: $406,200 143) Cubs: $402,100 144) Twins: $398,200 145) Royals: $394,200 146) Rockies: $390,500 147) Tigers: $386,600 148) Angels: $382,900 149) Mets: $379,100 150) Padres: $375,200 151) Guardians: $371,600 152) Phillies: $368,100 153) Reds: $364,400 154) Athletics: $360,800 155) Braves: $357,200 156) Mariners: $353,700 157) Cardinals: $350,200 158) Blue Jays: $346,800 159) Red Sox: $343,800 160) Yankees: $340,500 161) White Sox: $337,400 162) Brewers: $334,300 163) Astros: $331,400 164) Rays: $328,200 165) Dodgers: $325,200 166) Giants: $322,400
Sixth round: 167) Orioles: $319,600 168) D-backs: $316,900 169) Rangers: $314,200 170) Pirates: $311,400 171) Nationals: $308,700 172) Marlins: $306,200 173) Cubs: $303,700 174) Twins: $301,000 175) Royals: $298,600 176) Rockies: $296,100 177) Tigers: $293,700 178) Angels: $291,200 179) Mets: $288,700 180) Padres: $286,300 181) Guardians: $284,000 182) Phillies: $281,800 183) Reds: $279,500 184) Athletics: $277,100 185) Braves: $274,900 186) Mariners: $272,600 187) Cardinals: $270,500 188) Blue Jays: $268,300 189) Red Sox: $266,200 190) Yankees: $263,800 191) White Sox: $261,600 192) Brewers: $259,500 193) Astros: $257,300 194) Rays: $255,300 195) Dodgers: $253,200 196) Giants: $251,100
Seventh round: 197) Orioles: $249,000 198) D-backs: $247,000 199) Rangers: $244,800 200) Pirates: $242,800 201) Nationals: $241,400 202) Marlins: $239,300 203) Cubs: $237,300 204) Twins: $235,400 205) Royals: $233,400 206) Rockies: $231,400 207) Tigers: $229,600 208) Angels: $227,600 209) Mets: $225,800 210) Padres: $224,100 211) Guardians: $222,200 212) Phillies: $220,400 213) Reds: $218,800 214) Athletics: $217,000 215) Braves: $215,200 216) Mariners: $213,700 217) Cardinals: $211,800 218) Blue Jays: $210,300 219) Red Sox: $208,600 220) Yankees: $207,300 221) White Sox: $205,600 222) Brewers: $204,300 223) Astros: $202,700 224) Rays: $201,200 225) Dodgers: $199,700 226) Giants: $198,500
Eighth round: 227) Orioles: $197,200 228) D-backs: $195,800 229) Rangers: $194,100 230) Pirates: $193,000 231) Nationals: $191,500 232) Marlins: $190,400 233) Cubs: $188,900 234) Twins: $187,700 235) Royals: $186,400 236) Rockies: $185,200 237) Tigers: $183,900 238) Angels: $182,800 239) Mets: $181,800 240) Padres: $180,800 241) Guardians: $179,900 242) Phillies: $178,900 243) Reds: $178,100 244) Athletics: $177,000 245) Braves: $176,300 246) Mariners: $175,500 247) Cardinals: $174,500 248) Blue Jays: $173,800 249) Red Sox: $173,100 250) Yankees: $172,200 251) White Sox: $171,700 252) Brewers: $171,000 253) Astros: $170,200 254) Rays: $169,600 255) Dodgers: $169,000 256) Giants: $168,400
Ninth round: 257) Orioles: $167,800 258) D-backs: $167,300 259) Rangers: $166,600 260) Pirates: $166,100 261) Nationals: $165,600 262) Marlins: $165,200 263) Cubs: $164,500 264) Twins: $164,000 265) Royals: $163,700 266) Rockies: $163,200 267) Tigers: $162,800 268) Angels: $162,400 269) Mets: $161,900 270) Padres: $161,400 271) Guardians: $161,100 272) Phillies: $160,700 273) Reds: $160,300 274) Athletics: $160,000 275) Braves: $159,700 276) Mariners: $159,300 277) Cardinals: $159,000 278) Blue Jays: $158,500 279) Red Sox: $158,100 280) Yankees: $157,900 281) White Sox: $157,700 282) Brewers: $157,400 283) Astros: $157,100 284) Rays: $156,900 285) Dodgers: $156,500 286) Giants: $155,900
Tenth round: 287) Orioles: $155,700 288) D-backs: $155,400 289) Rangers: $155,200 290) Pirates: $154,900 291) Nationals: $154,700 292) Marlins: $154,500 293) Cubs: $154,200 294) Twins: $153,700 295) Royals: $153,500 296) Rockies: $153,100 297) Tigers: $152,900 298) Angels: $152,700 299) Mets: $152,400 300) Padres: $152,100 301) Guardians: $151,900 302) Phillies: $151,700 303) Reds: $151,400 304) Athletics: $151,200 305) Braves: $150,900 306) Mariners: $150,800 307) Cardinals: $150,500 308) Blue Jays: $150,300 309) Red Sox: $149,900 310) Yankees: $149,700 311) White Sox: $149,500 312) Brewers: $149,500 313) Astros: $149,500 314) Rays: $149,500 315) Dodgers: $149,500 316) Giants: $149,400