Monday night.  11:57.  While the Orioles game ended a little more than an hour earlier, Joe Jordan (Orioles scouting director) and co. were hard at work.  With the trade deadline being midnight, the Birds waited until there were 3 minutes to go to ink a deal with an 18 year old high school shortstop prospect from Miami, Florida.

Manny Machado has signed a minor league contract with the Orioles, including a signing bonus worth about $5.25 million.  Machado, the 3rd overall pick in the 2010 First Year Player Draft, will get the 2nd largest signing bonus in Orioles history and under Joe Jordan (Wieters got $6 million).  The last shortstop drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round was Rich Dauer out of USC, while Machado is also only the 3rd SS ever taken by the Birds in the 1st round out of high school (Bobby Grich, ’67 and Junior Kennedy, ’68)

Standing at 6’2″ and weighing nearly 180 pounds, Machado has been called by scouts a “Future A-Rod”, referring to his fielding and hitting mechanics that greatly reflect on those of Yankees 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez.  Batting .639 (55-86) in his senior season at Brito Private High School, Machado stacked up the remarkable stat line of 12 homeruns, 56 RBIs, 43 runs scored, 27 doubles, and 17 stolen bases.  In terms of experience, Machado also was a member of Team USA’s under 18 squad in 2009 that won the gold medal in the Pan American Junior Championship in Venezuela.

 
 
In other draft news:

–Bryce Harper, the Nationals 1st round pick and first pick overall, signed at the deadline as well.  He spotted a major league deal, with a $6.25 million bonus and $9.9 million in guaranteed money.

-Orioles 3rd round draft pick, pitcher Dan Klein from UCLA, has thrown a few bullpen sessions with the Aberdeen Ironbirds and will get a chance to throw in games soon, though his innings will be limited for the end of this season.

-Orioles 7th round pick Matt Bywater, pitcher from Pepperdine University who was slightly expected to return to school, signed a deal today with the O’s with a bonus worth about $195,000.