SI’s Jon Heyman backs up the report, and puts a figure on the bonus: $895,000.
Update – 8:41 a.m.: The Mets are yet to confirm the deal, even though many outlets have reported that the deal was completed before the deadline.
The Mets selected Matz with their first pick of the 2009 draft, in the second round, 72nd overall.
Matz was 6-1 with an ERA of 0.47 in his first seven starts for Ward Melville during his senior year of high school. He struck out 81 batters in 44 innings last year as well.
Steven Matz, the 18-year-old out of East Setauket, NY, was the Mets 72nd pick in this year’s amateur draft. The deadline to sign draft picks is rapidly approaching, midnight tonight, and the Mets and Matz have not come to terms on a deal.
At least not yet.
On Wednesday, Adam Rubin reported that the Mets and Matz were closing in on a deal. But yesterday, Jim Callis of Baseball America reported that the “deal isn’t close to done and isn’t going as smoothly as you might think.”
So we’ve got conflicting reports on where the Mets are with Matz. He could be close to a deal, or it could be a bumpy ride.
Either or, the clock is ticking on the Mets highest pick.
Matz is a 6-3 lefthander who struck out 74 in 54 innings with Ward Melville in his senior year. He is committed to Costal Carolina University.
Here’s the press release from the New York Mets:
FLUSHING, N.Y. -- The New York Mets selected left-handed pitcher Steven Matz with their first selection, 72nd overall, in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.
Matz, a senior at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, NY, went 6-1 with a 0.47 ERA in his first seven starts of the season. In 44 innings, he allowed 11 hits, 15 walks with 81 strikeouts.
Matz, 18, tossed a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and two walks in a complete game in the first round of the Class AA playoff on May 19th. The 6-2, 192-pounder also went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.
With the 103rd pick, the Mets selected Robert Shields, a 6-0, 220-pound shortstop out of Florida Southern College. The 21-year-old Shields, a junior, hit .345 (76-220) with 65 runs scored, 19 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 37 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 57 games for the Division II Moccasins this season. A native of Dade City, Fla., Shields hit .329 (215-653) over his three-year career at Florida Southern, while starting all 167 games. He was named second-team all Sunshine State Conference as a sophomore.
