Dodgers reportedly sign 2nd-round pick Landon Knack

The Dodgers have reportedly signed second-round pick Landon Knack out of East Tennessee State, something that seemed obvious since the day he was drafted.

Knack said he knew the night before that the Dodgers would draft him.

“I got a call right around midnight from my agent, telling me the Dodgers were wanting me at either pick 60 or 66,” Knack said on June 12. “We sat through and talked about it a little bit, getting my input and if I wanted to. Obviously I did.”

Knack said then that a deal wasn’t finalized just yet.

“We still have a couple things to finish up before signing things,” he said. “We’re still working on that.”

Where Knack heads next is to be determined. The Dodgers have nine open spots on their club player pool, and have already included some prospects who will get reps that might not otherwise come without a minor league season in 2020. Emily Waldon at The Athletic over the weekend reported the Dodgers would add Knack and first-round pick Bobby Miller to their player pool.

Jim Callis of MLB.com reported the signing bonus for Knack is $715,000, which is below than the recommended slot value of $1,157,400 for the 60th overall pick. $712,500 counts against the bonus pool.

So far the Dodgers have not announced the signing of Knack, nor the signing of fourth-rounder Carson Taylor.

The Dodgers overall bonus pool is $5,928,400 for their six picks. Spending five percent more than the bonus pool triggers a loss of a draft pick, and the penalties get worse from there. But going over by an amount less than five percent comes with only a monetary penalty — 75 percent of the overage.

So the Dodgers effectively have $2,819,819 remaining to spend on their two unsigned picks — Competitive Balance Round B pick Clayton Beeter, and third-round high school outfielder Jake Vogel. Those two recommended slot values add up to $1,584,900.

The deadline to sign draft picks is August 1.