Giants Paying #5 Pick More Than #1 Pick? Something's Wrong Here

According to media reports, the Giants will soon complete a major league deal with Buster Posey, the catcher who was picked fifth overall in the recent draft.

This is good news, unless you're Pablo Sandoval, who was recently promoted to the big leagues. Posey won national player of the year honors, like a certain Timothy Lincecum did a few years ago. Posey will bring youth and a big bat (he led the ACC in average, home runs, and RBI last season) to the catcher position when he comes to the majors.

But to get Posey to sign, the Giants are paying him a reported $7.5 million bonus, more than a million more than the Rays' #1 overall selection, Tim Beckham. Posey was initially reported to asking well over $10 million, and this is perhaps one of the reasons why the Rays passed on him, despite his gaudy stats.

But this should not be an issue. Rookies should be paid according to their draft position, not how much they demand.  And although in some cases (Reggie Bush vs. Mario Williams, for example) this occurs in other leagues, it seems that more and more baseball teams draft for sign-ability, not for need, helping big-market teams sign better players. This is the opposite of the goal of a draft, which is to give the worst teams the better players, and increase competition.

The Giants can afford to pay players like Posey, but teams like Pittsburgh or Washington might decide to go for a lower-caliber player just because it would be cheaper. A pay scale such as the one the NBA uses might be useful if the MLB wants teams like the Pirates or Nationals to contend.

Posey's obscene bonus also sets a bad precedent for future draft-pick negotiations, especially if the pick is higher than fifth overall next year. The draftee can say "well Posey got 7.5 from the fifth spot, so I should get 9 or 10 million."

However, the Rays have shown this year that they can compete even with a small payroll by judiciously handing out contracts. The Giants can afford to keep their young talent, as well as be able to draft future stars, if they stop giving so much cash and playing time to veterans who are not performing at their old levels.

In the mean-time, Posey should be a good player, and fairly soon, too. Good luck in a Giants' uniform, Buster, and may you put the ghosts of A.J. Pierzynski to rest.

(Update: Posey has signed for $6.2 million, only $100,000 than Beckham. Did the Rays make a mistake in passing on Posey?)