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A Word to the Wise on Deadline Day

Don't pay attention to articles saying that a draftee and a team "are unlikely to agree" before the deadline. Outside writers simply don't know at this point, and the updates they're getting are most likely sketchy and not from the most knowledgeable source in the negotiations. Rather, only believe real quotes from scouting directors, GMs, and other reputable first-hand sources, as they generally don't rule out anything publicly at this point unless it's legitimately dead. The Mychal Givens situation is just that, as Orioles' scouting director Joe Jordan stated that things were pretty much dead on management's side, so I think it's fairly safe to assume that Givens won't be signing. However, things are constantly changing at this moment, so don't put a lot of stock into anything. The main reason I'm not covering the signing deadline that much is that it's pretty irresponsible to suggest who will sign and who won't. We can access general tendencies, solid quotes, and other mixed material, but we can't be in those negotiations first-hand, so all I can report is finalized signings. In other words, ignore those articles that make you sweat about your team's first-round pick not being close to signing. Go to sleep peacefully tonight, wake up in the morning, and understand that there will only be one or two first rounders that end up not signing under most scenarios, so don't be concerned that the odds say that yours will be one of those two. There's no way we can know until tomorrow, and I'll be sure to let you know as soon as information comes out about who has gone where.