Rick Hahn positive on Scott Boras client Carlos Rodon signing with White Sox - MLB

While some outsiders have concerns about Carlos Rodon’s signability given he’s represented by Scott Boras, the White Sox don’t sound too worried.

Echoing amateur scouting director Doug Laumann’s confidence the White Sox will sign Rodon, the team’s first top-5 draft pick since 1990, general manager Rick Hahn said Monday he is upbeat about the situation.

Saying they wanted the best player on the board no matter what, the White Sox drafted the top collegiate pitcher with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday despite the presence of Boras. Even though Boras has gained a reputation for driving a hard bargain on his clients’ behalf, Hahn said Monday — in his first public statement since Rodon was drafted — he’s keeping positive thoughts.

“I tend to be an optimistic guy,” Hahn said. “I never anticipate problems. Look, in reality, we have a history with Scott, a positive history with Scott. He had Joe Crede, he’s got (Dayan) Viciedo. We had Andruw Jones here. A fair amount of this concern, or discussion on how this could be difficult, I think is unnecessary and really not significant to us determining what’s going to happen here.”

[MORE: Konerko believes the Tigers are the team to beat]

There’s some thought among baseball analysts that Rodon would ask for a signing bonus similar to what the No. 1 pick is expected to receive. Though top pick Brady Aiken signed with the Houston Astros for $6.5 million, the suggested slot for the No. 1 was roughly $7.9 million.

The suggested slot amount for the third pick is $5.72 million and Rodon could try and command somewhere in between those two amounts. That might hurt the White Sox chances of signing other players as, even though they have a franchise-record $9.5 million bonus pool, Rodon could eat a significant chunk of that money.

One way the White Sox can offset a larger bonus for Rodon, and how they have operated in the past, is to pick players in earlier rounds than they may have been projected to be selected in exchange for below-slot deals.

Last year, the White Sox drafted senior pitchers Nick Blount and Brad Goldberg in the ninth and 10 th rounds and signed them for $10,000 each, far below their slotted values.

This year, the White Sox drafted similar-type players in the sixth (OF Louie Lechich) and eighth (SS John Ziznewski) rounds. While neither has officially signed, their slotted signing bonuses are $272,000 and $162,000.

[WATCH: Hahn discusses three top picks, draft]

“We’re gonna make sure we put ourselves in position to sign as many players as we’re capable of signing,” Hahn said. “We did not take any of these players without the intent of being able to sign them.

“The way the pool works, what you pay one player does influence what you can pay another. We knew going in what our plan was. We hope it plays out.”

One addition the White Sox can include in their package to Rodon — though it’s not a guarantee — is potentially a faster path to the majors. The White Sox could hypothetically tell Rodon, who is perceived to be nearly major league ready, they would bring him to Chicago this season if he signs.

The White Sox did that with Chris Sale after they took him No. 13 in 2010. They don’t want to pressure Rodon and put Sale’s meteoric timeline on him but they won’t rule out the path, either.

“As we enter into this we intend to be aggressive, be fair and make an offer that, hopefully, convinces him it’s time to begin his professional career,” Hahn said.

CHICAGO – The number will follow Shohei Ohtani until it is over. No, not Ohtani’s home runs or strikeouts or any of his magnificent numbers from the field. Nothing like that.

It’s all about how much. As in how much will his next contract be worth.

Ohtani is among several players going into their final seasons before they are eligible for free agency. There is still time for signatures and press conferences before opening day, but history shows a new contract becomes less likely once the real games begin.

There is no real precedent for placing a value on Ohtani’s remarkable skills, especially after baseball’s epic offseason spending spree. And that doesn’t factor in the potential business opportunities that go along with the majors’ only truly global star.

Ohtani hit .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs last season in his fifth year with the Los Angeles Angels. The 2021 AL MVP also went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts on the mound.

He prepared for this season by leading Japan to the World Baseball Classic championship, striking out fellow Angels star Mike Trout for the final out in a 3-2 victory over the United States in the final.

Ohtani, who turns 29 in July, could set multiple records with his next contract, likely in the neighborhood of a $45 million average annual value and quite possibly reaching $500 million in total.

If the Angels drop out of contention in the rough-and-tumble AL West, Ohtani likely becomes the top name on the trade market this summer. If the Angels are in the mix for the playoffs, the pressure builds on the team to get something done before possibly losing Ohtani in free agency for nothing more than a compensatory draft pick.

So yeah, definitely high stakes with Ohtani and the Angels.

Here is a closer look at five more players eligible for free agency after this season:

RHP Aaron Nola, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Nola, who turns 30 in June, went 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts for Philadelphia last year. He also had a career-best 235 strikeouts in 205 innings for the NL champions.

Nola was selected by the Phillies with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft. There were extension talks during spring training, but it didn’t work out.

“We are very open-minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season,” President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We’re hopeful that he’ll remain a Phillie for a long time.”

3B Matt Chapman, TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Chapman hit 36 homers and drove in 91 runs for Oakland in 2019. He hasn’t been able to duplicate that production, but the three-time Gold Glover finished with 27 homers and 76 RBIs in 155 games last year in his first season with Toronto.

Chapman turns 30 on April 28. Long one of the game’s top fielding third basemen, he is represented by Scott Boras, who generally takes his clients to free agency.

OF TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ, SEATTLE MARINERS

Hernández was acquired in a November trade with Toronto. He hit .267 with 25 homers and 77 RBIs in his final year with the Blue Jays. He was terrific in 2021, batting .296 with 32 homers, 116 RBIs and a .870 OPS.

The change of scenery could help the 30-year-old Hernández set himself up for a big payday. He is a .357 hitter with three homers and seven RBIs in 16 games at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

OF Ian Happ, CHICAGO CUBS

The switch-hitting Happ is coming off perhaps his best big league season, setting career highs with a .271 batting average, 72 RBIs and 42 doubles in 158 games. He also won his first Gold Glove and made the NL All-Star team for the first time.

Chicago had struggled to re-sign its own players in recent years, but it agreed to a $35 million, three-year contract with infielder Nico Hoerner on Monday. The 28-year-old Happ, a first-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft, is on the executive subcommittee for the players’ union.

LHP JULIO URÍAS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Urías, who turns 27 in August, likely will have plenty of suitors if he reaches free agency. He went 17-7 with an NL-low 2.16 ERA in 31 starts for the NL West champions in 2022, finishing third in NL Cy Young Award balloting. That’s after he went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA in the previous season.

Urías also is a Boras client, but the Dodgers have one of the majors’ biggest payrolls. Los Angeles also could make a run at Ohtani, which could factor into its discussions with Urías’ camp.