Padres elect to go with Bush
Projecting how the first round of the draft may unfold.
Originally Published: June 7, 2004
By
Jim Callis | Baseball America
A look at the projected first round of Monday's amateur draft.
1. Padres: Matt Bush, ss, Mission Bay HS, El Cajon, Calif. The Padres initially narrowed their field to three players: Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew, Rice right-hander Jeff Niemann and Long Beach State right-hander Jered Weaver. With less than a week to go, they zeroed in on Drew, only to be stopped cold when owner John Moores abruptly decided that San Diego would not exceed Major League Baseball's bonus recommendation for the No. 1 slot, believed to be in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. That took Drew out of play, as he reportedly wants a package similar to the $3.6 million bonus and $4.79 million guaranteed big league contract Rickie Weeks got as the No. 2 overall pick last year. The Padres quickly switched gears to local product Bush and signed him the day before the draft for $3.1 million.
1. Padres: Matt Bush, ss, Mission Bay HS, El Cajon, Calif. The Padres initially narrowed their field to three players: Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew, Rice right-hander Jeff Niemann and Long Beach State right-hander Jered Weaver. With less than a week to go, they zeroed in on Drew, only to be stopped cold when owner John Moores abruptly decided that San Diego would not exceed Major League Baseball's bonus recommendation for the No. 1 slot, believed to be in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. That took Drew out of play, as he reportedly wants a package similar to the $3.6 million bonus and $4.79 million guaranteed big league contract Rickie Weeks got as the No. 2 overall pick last year. The Padres quickly switched gears to local product Bush and signed him the day before the draft for $3.1 million.
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