With the 2026 MLB Draft signing deadline looming, the pressure is on for unsigned draftees to ink their professional contracts. As of Friday evening, only a handful of players from the first two rounds had yet to sign, with the clock ticking towards the July 27 deadline at 5 p.m. ET. Among them is Louisiana State outfielder Derek Curiel, who is believed to have reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates, although his deal had not yet been officially finalized. The fate of Ganesha HS left-hander Logan Schmidt, a second-round pick, remains uncertain, with the Cleveland Guardians facing a tight bonus pool situation. Schmidt's assigned pick value of $1,598,900 may be the maximum the Guardians can offer without incurring significant penalties.
The history of the Draft suggests that unsigned draftees are rare. In the last four drafts, only one player selected in the top 60 picks failed to turn pro. Last year, the Pirates drafted Angel Cervantes, a right-hander from Warren HS, but were unable to meet his asking price within their pool constraints. This reluctance to exceed their pool has been a consistent strategy since 2012, when the rules were introduced, with the Pirates meeting their asking price in only seven of the first 10 drafts after this change.
The bonus pool system imposes strict limits on team spending. Teams can outspend their bonus pools by up to 5 percent without incurring a penalty tax. However, exceeding this threshold by more than 5 percent results in a 75 percent penalty tax, and surpassing it by more than that amount leads to the forfeiture of at least one future first-round pick. All bonuses in the first 10 rounds count towards the pool, and any individual bonus over $150,000 in Rounds 11-20 also contributes to the pool.
The pressure is particularly high for players like Gavin Giese, a right-hander from Dana Hills HS, Aidan Knaak, a right-hander from Clemson, and Miles Gosztola, a left-hander from Oregon. Among these, Knaak appears to be the most uncertain to sign. The deadline is fast approaching, and the fate of these unsigned draftees will be decided in the coming days, with the potential for significant implications for their careers and the teams that drafted them.
