Mariners currently rank 15th in bonus pool cash for draft and international signings

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Mariners are gearing up for the heart of the scouting season with a little more than $10 million to spend in the upcoming draft and the international signing period.

That ranks 15th among the 30 clubs in numbers obtained by Baseball America.

Major League Baseball assigns a bonus-slot amount to each pick in the first 10 rounds. A club is not bound by the amount for any specific pick but is limited to the sum of bonuses in signing picks in the first 10 rounds.

Selections made after the 10th round only count against the bonus pool for amounts exceeding $100,000. Fines and penalties are assessed for clubs that exceed their assigned bonus pools.

All current bonus-pool numbers are subject to adjustment after remaining free agents who rejected qualifying offers sign with new clubs.

Clubs that lose a free agent after extending a qualifying offer get a pick — and that pick’s bonus pool — in compensation. Clubs that sign such free agents lose a pick as the accompanying pool bonus.

The Mariners currently have the 11th pick in the draft and a bonus pool of $7,136,000 to spend in this year’s draft. That up from $4,186,900 in 2015, when they didn’t have a first-round pick after signing free-agent outfielder Nelson Cruz.

The draft is June 9-11.

Cincinnati has the largest bonus pool for the draft at $13,923,700 and the largest combined total for the draft and international signings at $19,087,100. Philadelphia is a close second at $13,405,200 and $19,016,000.

Oakland has the highest total draft pool among American League clubs at $13,702,200, which ranks sixth overall. The Mariners’ combined total is $10,011,400.

When the international signing period begins in July, the Mariners will have $2,875,400 in pool bonuses, which are determined through a reverse order of a club’s winning percentage in the previous season.

A year ago, the Mariners had $2,150,300 in their international pool.

Bob Dutton: @TNT_Mariners

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Mariners currently rank 15th in bonus pool cash for draft and international signings."