Washington Nationals reportedly sign 2017 1st Round pick Seth Romero to $2.8M deal...

Multiple reports last night said the Washington Nationals and 2017 1st Round pick Seth Romero were on the verge of agreeing to a deal before today’s deadline to sign players from this year’s draft class. Romero was the last of the Nats’ top 10 picks that had not signed, but according to both FanRag’s Jon Heyman and the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes, a deal was close as of last night.

Heyman is reporting this morning that a deal is done:

Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo and Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline talked on the night of the Draft about selecting Romero in spite of concerns about the hard-throwing left-hander, who was dismissed from the University of Houston’s baseball team for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

“Seth Romero was a very polished, high-upside, left-handed pitcher that we had scouted extensively,” Rizzo told reporters.

“We like the stuff. Obviously the factors that got him down to us, there were questions about his off-the-field — we felt comfortable in the fact that we knew his history, our area scouts and our guys who know him, and we expect him to conduct himself with maturity and be a professional, and be accountable for his actions and to immerse him within our organization.

“We feel that we do a really good job — our player development guys do a really good job of teaching them the Nationals’ way, how to conduct themselves on the field, in the clubhouse, and in the community, and we expect nothing less from Seth.”

Rizzo and Kline talk about Nats’ top two 2017 Draft picks:

LINK: Rizzo and Kline talk Romero and Crowe; 2017 MLB Draft

According to Heyman, the Nationals signed Romero, who was selected 25th overall, to a $2.8M deal, an above slot deal for the spot, which was valued at $2,530,400.

Romero went (4-5) with a 3.51 ERA, 20 walks, 85 Ks and a .256 BAA in 10 games, seven starts, and 48 2⁄3 IP for the University of Houston before he was dismissed.

Kline said after the selection that he was confident that the lefty had put the issues behind him.

“I think this kid’s learned his lesson,” he explained, “and he’s going to go out there and be a very productive big leaguer. The stuff plays in the big leagues right now.

“Big fastball, he’s got a wipeout breaking ball. Good feel for his changeup, very competitive kid, so I don’t see an issue with this kid.”