Jac Caglianone signs overslot deal with Kansas City Royals

Former Florida first baseman and left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone has agreed to terms with the Kansas City Royals, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

Caglianone’s signing bonus is worth $7.5 million, which is $286,200 over the assigned slot value of $7,213,800 for the sixth overall pick.

At publishing time, Caglianone’s deal is the largest over-slot deal in the first round; however, four of the five picks before Caglianone have signed deals worth more money. The lone exception is Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz who signed for $1.37 million under his slot value.

Caglianone entered the draft an expected top-5 pick, but he fell to sixth overall. The big question of him being a two-way player was a lot for teams to consider and reports that Caglianone wanted an over-slot deal might have also lowered his stock.

It’s clear that Cleveland and Oakland wanted to sign well underslot, saving over $1.25 million apiece in the first round. Cincinnati went with Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns and handed him the largest signing bonus in MLB history — $9.25 million — but it was still an underslot deal.

Would Caglianone have taken that deal? Probably, but this seems more like a case of the Reds wanting a true pitcher — Cags’ bat is better than his arm right now.

Then there’s the Colorado Rockies at No. 3, who went with Georgia outfielder Charlie Condon. The Rockies gave Condon the same bonus as Burns, so this again feels like the team going with the guy they wanted more.

Finally, Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith signed with the Chicago White Sox for $236,300 as the fifth pick. Caglianone’s deal is almost exactly $50,000 more over the assigned slot value. Smith is still taking home $500,000 more overall, but that figure seems intentional.

Whatever the reason for the slip, Caglianone is now set to begin his professional career. Those five teams listed above may live to regret passing on the former Gator…

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.