When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed first-round pick Termarr Johnson last Friday, general manager Ben Cherington indicated they could be done dealing with their draft picks but didn’t totally rule it out.
Still, the signing of 14th-rounder Julian Bosnic before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline was a surprise.
Bosnic, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound left-handed pitcher from South Carolina, was 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA, four saves, 78 strikeouts and a .133 batting average against in 50 2/3 innings over 22 appearances (four starts) in 2021. He set a school record with eight consecutive strikeouts against Dayton and was drafted in the 16th round by the San Francisco Giants.
Bosnic, however, returned for his redshirt junior season with the expectation of being a starter. Instead, he suffered a flexor strain in his left elbow and missed the season after undergoing surgery in April. Bosnic entered the NCAA transfer portal and had committed to play at Arkansas next year but was signed by scout Cam Murphy. Bosnic has family ties to Pittsburgh, as both of his parents (mother Cynthia and father Brian) attended Pitt.
The Pirates have signed 19 of their 21 draft picks, including four ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 90 players and six in the top 250. The two draft picks who didn’t sign are 12th-rounder K.C. Hunt, a right-handed pitcher from Mississippi State, and 19th-rounder Yoel Tejada, a right-hander from North Broward (Fla.) Prep who signed with Florida.
