Giants set sights on their top draft pick

Posey's college season ends; will he sign?

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

If all goes according to the Giants' plans, Buster Posey played his last collegiate baseball game Monday.

Despite Posey's best efforts, Florida State was eliminated from the College World Series with a 7-5 loss to Miami. The polished catcher was 4 for 5 in the defeat.

The Giants drafted Posey with the fifth overall pick this month. They have until Aug. 15 to sign him, or they would lose his rights and receive a replacement first-round pick in next year's draft.

Indications are that Posey won't sign quickly, but sources said he is eager to start his pro career and the Giants are determined to bring him in the fold.

Various reports have said Posey's agents are seeking a major league deal worth $12 million, but the two sides are likely to settle at a figure somewhere between that and the $6 million that No. 5 pick Matt Wieters received from the Baltimore Orioles last year.

The Giants haven't ruled out giving Posey a major league contract, figuring that he wouldn't need long to reach the big leagues. Such a contract also would allow them to spread the money over two or three years.

With the major league payroll about $10 million below last year's total of roughly $95 million, Giants outgoing managing partner Peter Magowan said it's safe to assume the difference would be spent on draft bonuses and international free agents.

The Giants are believed to be ready to offer $2.5 million to Dominican outfielder Rafael Rodriguez when he turns 16 on July 13. It would break the club record for an international signing bonus, which they established two years ago when they gave $2.1 million to power-hitting infielder Angel Villalona.

"We had the potential to go higher with the major league payroll if the right things came about," Magowan said. "We were looking at Joe Crede, for example. He would have been a $5.5 million player instead of the guy we got, (Jose Castillo), who was a $600,000 player. We could have done that.

"The point I want to make is that we've got the wherewithal to do this. It's not a question of how much the major league payroll is. We established it with the Villalona signing. We have to do a better job of drafting and developing players than we've done. We all know that."

Magowan called last year's draft "the best of my 16 years here," and said he is equally impressed with the haul that first-year scouting director John Barr brought earlier this month.

"I'm extremely pleased with how he conducted the draft," Magowan said. "That's why we brought him here."

• Call it a coincidence: When Posey made a relief appearance against Stanford last weekend, he became the first player since Wieters in 2006 to catch and pitch in the same College World Series game.

• Catcher Eliezer Alfonzo is playing on an approved rehab assignment for low Class A Augusta as he nears completion of his 50-game suspension. Alfonzo, who tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in April, is eligible to return Sunday. Player personnel director Bobby Evans said Alfonzo would be assigned to Triple-A Fresno.