Kyle Johnson, a weekend starting pitcher and power-hitting outfielder with the UVA Baseball team in 2026, has signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, who had taken him in the sixth round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Johnson signed for a $384,000 bonus, $2,500 under slot, so, in range of what he should have gotten.
Good for Kyle and his agents.
Update: Eric Becker, taken in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds, signed on Tuesday for a $1.65 million bonus, $12,300 over the bonus pool slot value.
Good work there on Becker’s behalf.
Also signing: closer Tyler Kapa, a 14th-round pick of the Miami Marlins.
Kapa signed for a $147,500 bonus.
Picks in Rounds 11-20 can sign for up to $150,000 without their bonus counting toward their franchise’s bonus pool.
I’d consider this a win for Kapa and his agents; unlike Johnson and Becker, Kapa was out of college eligibility, and thus, had no leverage.
Henry Ford, who transferred from Virginia to Tennessee when Brian O’Connor left last summer to take the coaching job at Mississippi State, signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners, who had taken Ford in the sixth round of the draft.
Ford signed for a $335,900 bonus, at slot for his spot in the draft.
Gotta say here: I had foreseen Ford as a surefire first-round pick from early in his freshman year at Virginia.
I’m surprised, to say the least, that he fell all the way to the sixth round after his year away from home.
Still unsigned
- Round 2 (40): *3B Bo Lowrance, Los Angeles Dodgers (pick value: $2,504,200)
- Round 2 (58): SS Eric Becker, Cincinnati Reds (pick value: $1,637,700)
- Round 7 (215): 2B Joe Tiroly, San Diego Padres (pick value: $276,400)
- Round 11 (317): ***CF Aidan Teel, (Minnesota Twins)
- Round 13 (381): **LHP Evan Blanco (Athletics)
- Round 14 (415): RHP Tyler Kapa (Miami Marlins)
*Lowrance is a recruit in the UVA Baseball Class of 2026.
**Blanco played the 2026 season at Tennessee.
***Teel played the 2026 season at Mississippi State.
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Chris Graham
