Pirates To Offer Bell Record Money
PITTSBURGH (KDKA)- It appears as though Pirates second-round pick Josh Bell's commitment to the University of Texas will be put to the test.
Does he continue his intention of playing college baseball or does he sign with the Pirates for a lot of money.
Insidepittsburghsports.com is reporting that the Pirates are prepared to offer Bell a signing bonus of more than $4.25 million.
Last year, they gave second-round pick Stetson Allie a bonus of $2.25 million.
This report says that within the last week there's been open dialogue between the Pirates and Bell's family. The odds are still not on the Pirates side.
Bell was rated as the 15th best prospect in the draft by Baseball American but teams were scared off by his pledge to Texas. In fact, he wrote a letter to each of the 30 major-league teams telling them not to draft him because he planned to honor his commitment to Texas.
Last year, Bell hit .548 with 13 home runs, 54 RBIs, 54 runs scored in just 139 at-bats.
The deadline to sign draft picks is Monday.
