photo: Rocco Maniscalco and family (Instagram)
On Tuesday, July 21, the St. Louis Cardinals formalized via a series of social media posts the signing of 20 of their 23 draft picks from the 2026 class plus four undrafted free agents.
First rounder Trevor Condon was in St. Louis last week to sign and the club heavily publicized it. However, as the club worked behind the scenes to get all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed, signing news about the others were disclosed by the players or other media, including signing bonuses.
The two not expected to come to terms by the Monday, July 27 deadline are the Cardinals’ final two selections, 19th rounder Clayton Freshcorn and 20th rounder Kollin Ritchie. Both have declared their intent to return to college.
From a bonus perspective, the Cardinals remained within their 100% allocation for the second consecutive year, choosing not to exercise their option to spend up to 105% without significant penalty. That amounts to over $830,000.
The Cardinals signed seven of the 13 first 10-round players to underslot amounts, including Condon. That money was primarily shifted to land second round high school shortstop Rocco Maniscalco.
Two post-10th round signees, Jacob Haley (11th round) and Matthew Thomas (13th), received bonuses over the $150,000 target with those overages also applying against the cap.
When all was said and done, the Cards spent 99.78% of their $16.6 million allotment.
| Rd/overall | 2026 draft | Cls/Pos | Pick value | Signed | plus/minus |
| 1-13 | Trevor Condon | HS OF | $5,661,300 | $5,161,300 | $500,000 |
| Comp A-32 | Tegan Kuhns | So P | $3,044,600 | $3,044,600 | $0 |
| 2-50 | Rocco Maniscalco | HS SS | $1,982,700 | $3,200,000 | ($1,217,300) |
| Comp B-68 | Andrew Williamson | Jr OF | $1,285,500 | $1,285,500 | $0 |
| Comp B-72 | Dawson Montesa | Jr P | $1,174,300 | $850,000 | $324,300 |
| 3-86 | Caden Ferraro | Jr OF | $943,600 | $800,000 | $143,600 |
| 4-114 | Dee Kennedy | Jr SS | $684,300 | $684,300 | $0 |
| 5-146 | Cal Randall | Jr RHP | $501,300 | $501,300 | $0 |
| 6-175 | Owen Henne | Jr SS | $383,400 | $383,400 | $0 |
| 7-204 | Derek Schaefer | Jr RHP | $302,300 | $275,000 | $27,300 |
| 8-234 | Luke Harrison | Grad LHP | $241,000 | $125,000 | $116,000 |
| 9-264 | Jayden Lobliner | Sr C | $210,600 | $25,000 | $185,600 |
| 10-294 | Nick Bonn | Sr RHP | $197,400 | $150,000 | $47,400 |
| Pool total | $16,612,300 | $16,485,400 | $126,900 | ||
| plus- | |||||
| 10 rdrs | > $150K | Cls/Pos | Not in totals | Signed | overage |
| 11-324 | Jacob Haley | Jr RHP | <=$150,000 | $215,000 | ($65,000) |
| 13-384 | Matthew Thomas | Jr OF | <=$150,000 | $175,000 | ($25,000) |
| 1-10 pool | $16,612,300 | ||||
| 1-10-unsign | $0 | ||||
| revised pool | $16,612,300 | ||||
| 105% total | $17,442,915 | ||||
| “extra” | $830,615 | ||||
| +/- all | $36,900 | ||||
| no pick loss | extra $ left | $867,515 | |||
| Total spend | $16,575,400 | ||||
| Pct of 100% | 99.78% |
Here are the announcements. Click on the area below to see all 25 signees – the 21 draft picks and four free agents.
We have agreed to terms with the following 2026 draft picks and non-drafted free agents! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/MMnHIja5D1
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 21, 2026
For more
Information about the entire Cardinals draft class of 23 players can be found in these articles.
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