By Dejan Kovacevic | 7:10 p.m. Wednesday
HOUSTON -- Pirates president Frank Coonelly tonight described himself as "frustrated" by the pace of talks with first-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez, the 
slugging third baseman out of Vanderbilt University.
"I am frustrated that negotiations haven't concluded of yet," Coonelly said by phone from Pittsburgh. "We were very hopeful to have Pedro playing for one of the Pirates' affiliates by now. Other premier college players who signed early, like Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun and Evan Longoria, have used the additional year of development as a stepping stone to get into majors within 10-12 months of being drafted, and we tried to work Pedro into that situation."
But no more, apparently.
The Pirates had expressed hope upon drafting Alvarez with the No. 2 overall pick June 5 that he would sign quickly enough that be could get enough seasoning this year to have a chance to ascend as far as Pittsburgh by next year. In the three examples Coonelly gave, all three signed within two weeks. These talks already have taken six.
Teams must sign all draft picks by Major League Baseball's Aug. 15 deadline, or those players go back into the pool next year. For Alvarez, that would mean a senior year at Vanderbilt. For the Pirates, that would mean a compensation pick in 2009 at No. 3 overall.
Coonelly became the first since draft day, on either side, to go public about the Alvarez talks. Alvarez and his family have declined requests from the Post-Gazette to be interviewed, and his agent, Scott Boras, has not returned messages, including one for this article.
Because the circle involved in the talks is so small - perhaps no more than four - financial parameters are not known. A team source not directly involved told the Post-Gazette earlier this week that the sides were $2 million apart, but information since then suggests the figure is larger, perhaps much larger.
The general perception in the baseball community is that Alvarez is seeking a bonus in the range of $7 million, plus a major league contract that would guarantee him eight figures. The No. 1 pick, the Tampa Bay Rays' Tim Beckham, signed last month for a $6.1 million bonus and no major league contract.
Coonelly said he is detecting a pattern that agents are advising first-round picks to hold out until the deadline, perhaps to draw a line in the sand. In the 2007 draft, the first in which the new compensation rules were implemented, all 30 first-round picks signed, a great rarity and one that might have been interpreted as unusual complicity. This year, only 18 have signed so far, including just Beckham among the top five and two of the top nine.
"It appears from our discussions that there is a feeling among the player representatives that they shouldn't negotiate seriously until Aug. 15," Coonelly said. "That's frustrating for me and, I suspect, others in the industry."
Coonelly knows the process as well as than anyone: In his previous role as MLB's chief legal counsel, he worked closely with teams on all aspects of draft bonuses.
Coonelly continued to decilne to discuss specifics of the negotiations with Alvarez.
"Those will stay between us and Pedro and the family and Scott," Coonelly said. "We will not negotiate through the press."
He did say, though, that the Pirates, if they do not sign Alvarez, would redistribute his money to "other high-end picks" in their draft class.
Posted
Jul 23 2008, 07:10 PM
by
Dejan Kovacevic