Red Sox sign Ranaudo for $2.55 million

Aug 17, 2010 12:14am

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By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com

With less than two minutes to spare before the Monday midnight deadline, the Red Sox reached agreement with LSU right-hander Anthony Ranaudo for a $2.55 million signing bonus.

Ranaudo, who was chosen in the sandwich round by the Red Sox at No. 39 overall, got the sort of signing bonus usually associated with a Top 10 selection, which he was expected to be before an elbow-forearm injury limited his effectiveness in his junior season and dropped him out of the first round.

The Sox had brought Ranaudo in for a physical earlier Monday in the event a deal was reached later in the day. But in the final 15 minutes before the deadline struck, no deal was in place.

Eventually, the Sox and adviser Scott Boras came to an agreement.

The Sox had waited on Ranaudo, wanting to see him pitch in the Cape Cod League this summer to evaluate his health. When he strung together a string of 29 2/3 scoreless innings against the nation's best college players, they had seen all they needed to see.

Still, there was the politics of the draft to contend with. Major League Baseball offers teams recommended signing bonuses, or ''slots'' that it would prefer clubs adhere to. Often, however, teams -- especially big-market teams like the Red Sox -- ignore those recommendations and sign players using their own estimations of the market.

The recommended slot for Ranaudo, for example, was approximately $850,000.

Had Ranaudo not signed before midnight, he would have been eligible to return to LSU for his senior year and re-entered the draft next summer but the Red Sox would not have retained his rights.

Ranaudo's workload at LSU and later in the Cape League means it's unlikely the Red Sox will assign him to a minor-league affiliate this season. Most minor-league schedules end before Labor Day, leaving only a few weeks remaining.

He will come to spring training next February and will likely start at Salem, the Red Sox' High A affiliate.

The Sox also signed a handful of other draft picks Monday, including second-round pitcher Brandon Workman (2nd round, $880,000) from the University of Texas, high school shortstops Sean Coyle ($1.3 million; 3rd round) and Garin Cecchini ($1.3 million; 4th round), lefty Chris Hernandez from the University of Miami (7th round, $375,000), Virginia Tech pitcher Matthew Price (8th round) and junior college outfielder Lucas LeBlanc (11th round).

Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sean_mcadam

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Scott Boras, Anthony Ranaudo

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