When the clock hit 9:00 PM on Monday night in the Padres front office, there had to have been an air of disbelief amongst those in attendance.
Karsten Whitson, the player the Padres had chosen just over two months ago with their first-round pick – ninth overall – was not going to sign with the club over a reported $500,000 – $700,000 difference between the bonus amount that was offered and the amount that was demanded.
After an impossibly successful season, both on the field and off, the organization had been dealt a major blow. Whitson was regarded by many as the second best high school arm in the draft with his mid-90s fastball and plus slider. He was a projectable right-hander and the type of prospect that the organization was severely lacking.
“I’d put his fastball up against anyone’s in the draft this year as far as quality,” the Padres Assistant GM Jason McLeod said the night Whitson was drafted. McLeod even went on to say that the team had Whitson ranked on par with James Taillon – the second overall pick – as far as pure talent. Needless to say, the team was happy with their selection.
Whitson appeared eager to be drafted and excited to be a Padre too.
“His dream is to play here in Petco Park; we’ve talked to him about that,” Director of Scouting Jaron Madison said on draft night. “He had the opportunity to pitch here with [the Aflac All American Game], and it’s something that he really enjoyed.”
But instead of holding up a Padres jersey with the name “Whitson” on the back and having the new Friar take questions about playing in cities like Fort Wayne and Eugene, Jed Hoyer was forced to answer questions about what had happened that led to the team failing to sign their first-round pick for the first time in the organization’s history.
So what happened?
According to Hoyer, the story starts before draft night even took place. The organization had talked to Whitson and agreed upon a $1.953 million bonus if he was available at their pick. It was a number that fell in line with Major League Baseball’s slot recommendations and looked great to the Padres who had shelled out $6 million last year to Donavan Tate.
But after deals to the eighth and tenth overall selections both came in over what the Padres and Whitson had agreed upon, the team upped their offer about $250,000.
But before the two sides agreed, Whitson’s camp came back demanding around $2.7 million for him to sign with the Padres. No one has yet admitted who got in Whitson’s ear to tell him he should be paid like the fourth or fifth pick, but a national scout pointed to his agent Troy Caradonna of SFX Baseball as the reasoning behind the sudden hike in salary demands.
So be advised Padres fans, all the blame in this situation cannot be placed on a cheap front office or a greedy high school kid. This is another example of agents getting involved in an unhealthy way.
Whitson will now likely be headed to the University of Florida where he will have to remain for three years until he can reenter the draft in 2013 unless he decides to attend a junior college. The downside for him of course is the risk that he has now assumed that he will avoid injury and again be chosen in the top of the draft in order to regain the money he passed on by choosing to not sign with the Padres.
For their troubles, the Padres will be given the 11th over pick in an immensely talented 2011 draft class. But until then, there will continually be questions about what exactly happened between the time that the Padres chose Whitson and when they began contract discussions.
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
