In January, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that among other punishments for the sign-stealing scandal the Houston Astros would forfeit their first- and second-round draft picks and associated bonus money for the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Maybe that won’t be so bad after all.
Many people thought the loss of top draft picks would be the biggest punishment absorbed by Houston, because it would cut deeply into their prospect pipeline. Now that cut may not be as deep.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reported a not-yet-finalized plan to move the 2020 MLB Draft back a month to July and shorten it to between five and 10 rounds with a large portion of signing bonuses paid in later years.