Is this the signing of the draft? Dodgers ink No.1 Zach Lee for $5.25 million
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They got him. And he didn’t come cheap, either.
In a major coup for the Los Angeles Dodgers, at the 11th hour they signed No.1 draft pick Zach Lee (pictured at right) for $5.25 million over five years.
Most teams considered Lee unsignable after the dual-sport star expressed interest in playing quarterback at Louisiana State. Lee reported to LSU and had been in camp with the football team.
When reports circulated it would take $5 million to sign the right-handed pitcher, teams backed off and the 6-foot-4 Lee fell to the Dodgers with the 28th pick.
Many suspected the Dodgers selected Lee because they had no intention of actually spending first-round money on a draft pick while owners Frank and Jamie McCourt were going through their mega divorce.
‘I do think Frank’s been unfairly criticized at times for the selection of this pick,’ said Logan White, Dodgers assistant general manager. ‘We had discussed this with him before we made this pick and Frank certainly had the courage to still allow us to do it, even though he was going to be criticized.’
After draft day in June, there had been no known contact between Lee’s family and the Dodgers.
White, however, had promised that the Dodgers would make a substantial offer to Lee before the deadline passed. Plenty -- OK, most -- scoffed and figured it would never happen.
‘I think it tells you that when we have the right player, we’ll do what we have to do to get the right player signed,’’ said General Manager Ned Colletti.
Now many will call this the signing of the draft, or at least the surprise signing. When other teams grew fearful and backed off, the Dodgers gambled and stepped up.
‘I think that’s how you have great things happen,’ White said. ‘Sometimes you have to make a run and take a guy you think has that kind of ability.’
The 18-year-old from McKinney, Texas, is expected at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday to take a physical.
White said Lee has a 95-mph fastball, a good breaking ball and an excellent changeup.
‘He absolutely has a picture-perfect delivery and excellent arm action,’ White said. ‘He’s clean as any pitcher I’ve seen.’
Like Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, White said that Lee could be up with the Dodgers by the time he’s 21 or 22.
There is no provision in his contract to play football part-time at LSU. Football, however, proved to give Lee great negotiating leverage.
The $5.25 million more than doubles the Dodgers’ previous record signing bonus. They gave Kershaw $2.3 million in 2006.
‘As you know, this player was deemed as unsignable,’ White said. ‘If they thought they could have signed him, a majority of teams would have taken him. He’s certainly was a first-ten pick.’
-- Steve Dilbeck