Mets Sign Steven Matz

The Nationals signed their Stephen, and the Mets got their Matz.

In one of the few “feel good” stories of 2009 for the Mets, local pitcher Steven Matz signed a pro contract with the team just minutes before the midnight deadline.

No word yet on whether he’ll be assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones or elsewhere. Since the Cyclones have less than 20 games left on the schedule, I’d imagine Matz will take a trip down to Port St. Lucie and work out there until further notice. Reportedly, Matz was given an $895,000 signing bonus — slightly short of his $1M demand, but still more than $450K over “slot”.

There haven’t been any announcements concerning other previously unsigned Mets draft picks, though we may hear of them in the coming days. (** UPDATE ** – TheRopolitans has an update on other signings made just before the stroke of midnight last night ***)

In other news, the Nationals signed uber-prospect Stephen Strasburg to a record $15.67M bonus. That figure is short of the $20M – $40M figures thrown out by Scott Boras, but it’s a pretty penny nonetheless for a kid who has yet to throw a professional pitch.

Good luck to both Steves … maybe we’ll see them pitching head-to-head on a big-league diamond some day in the near future.