Large bonus pool gives Reds flexibility in Draft

DENVER — One of the cornerstones of the Reds’ rebuilding process is an aggressive investment in the amateur player market via the Draft. That could be a little easier to do this year, because Cincinnati has Major League Baseball’s largest bonus pool for the first 10 rounds.

In part because the Reds have the No. 2 overall pick, and the top lottery round pick at No. 35 overall, they will have $13,923,700 to work with when trying to sign players. Of course, there are no guarantees on how that money will be spent, or if signings will work out, but it’s a nice advantage to have over other clubs.

• Complete 2016 Draft coverage

“It gives you an opportunity to be creative and do a lot of different things to try and have a strong Draft and improve the depth and inventory of your organization,” Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty said. “It’s very beneficial.”

The 2016 Draft will take place from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, Jun 11, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. Live Draft coverage from MLB Network’s Studio 42 begins at 7 p.m., with the top 77 picks being streamed on MLB.com and broadcast on MLB Network. MLB.com’s exclusive coverage of Day 2 begins with a live Draft show at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, with exclusive coverage of Day 3 beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

MLB.com’s coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 200 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of over 1,500 Draft-eligible players. Every selection will be tweeted live from …

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