The Red Sox have officially signed 2022 first-round and second-round draft picks Mikey Romero and Cutter Coffey, the team announced earlier Monday afternoon.
According to The Athletic’s Chad Jennings, Romero — who was taken with the 24th overall selection — has received a $2.3 million bonus while Coffey — who was taken with the 41st overall selection — has received a $1.8475 million bonus. Boston was rewarded with the 41st pick in this year’s draft after failing to sign Jud Fabian last summer.
Romero, 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the 54th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class. The left-handed hitting shortstop batted .372/.419/.659 with four home runs, 26 RBIs, 24 runs scored, and one stolen base in 30 games (105 plate appearances) as a senior at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School.
Coffey, also 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the 65th-ranked prospect in this year’s draft class. A right-handed hitting shortstop from Bakersfield, Calif., Coffey slashed .442/.581/1.021 with 12 home runs, 32 RBIs, 48 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases over 31 games (129 plate appearances) at Liberty High School.
Romero, who has two older sisters — Sierra and Sydney — who were college softball stars at Michigan and Oklahoma, was previously committed to play college baseball at Louisiana State University. He will instead forego his commitment by signing with Boston for $2.3 million, which is approximately $676,400 under-slot.
Coffey, on the other hand, was once a two-way player who was projected by evaluators to be better as a pitcher. Like Romero, Coffey was also committed to play his college baseball at a big school in the University of Texas at Austin. He, too, will forego his commitment by signing an under-slot deal with the Red Sox.
Both Romero and Coffey spent the weekend in Boston and are expected to be introduced to the media at Fenway Park prior to Monday’s game against the Guardians.
(Picture of Mikey Romero: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)