Dodgers have lowest draft bonus pool in MLB
$3.95 million to spend is LA’s lowest since slotting system was implemented in 2012.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 13: A MLB 2025 Draft logo is seen during the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft at Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr. /Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images Major League Baseball on Wednesday unveiled its recommended slot values for the 2026 MLB Draft, which determines the bonus pools that each team has to spend this July.
After signing star free agents Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker this offseason, the Dodgers in this year’s draft have the lowest bonus pool in MLB and their lowest bonus pool in the 15 years of the slotting system. Bonus pools are determined by adding up the recommended slot values for every pick through the 10th round. Because both Díaz and Tucker rejected qualifying offers from their former teams in November, and because the Dodgers were a competitive-balance-tax-paying team, Los Angeles lost a pair of 2026 draft picks with each signing.
For Díaz, the Dodgers forfeited their second-round and fifth-round picks , and for Tucker they lost their third-round and sixth-round picks . That leaves only six picks in the first 10 rounds of the 2026 draft, and the Dodgers have a total bonus pool of $3,951,500 to spend. Here are the team’s recommended slot values, per both Carlos Collazo of Baseball America and Joe Doyle of Over-Slot Baseball .
Round Overall pick Slot value 1 40 $2,504,200 4 132 $575,300 7 223 $260,300 8 253 $218,500 9 283 $201,700 10 313 $191,900 Total $3,951,500 The Dodgers’ previous lowest bonus pool was in 2022 with $4,223,800 to spend . “The depth of our system put us in a position where, while the cost is still meaningful, it wasn’t as significant. We have a very strong system up top ,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in January.