One out: Signee Thomas signs deal with O's

USF has officially lost its first baseball signee, as Middleton's Corey Thomas, a 13th-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, has signed a pro contract, the Times' Eduardo Encina reports.

Thomas was the third USF signee taken in last week's draft, following catcher Adrian Nieto (fifth) and left-hander Anthony Ferrara (seventh). The agency that is advising Nieto sent me an e-mail Sunday night, clarifying that the Washington Nationals had not discussed any financial terms with Nieto. So any reports that the two sides were far apart would be, at best, premature. Joshua Kusnick of Double Diamond Sports Management said Nieto is "hopeful" of reaching an agreement with the Nationals, but points out that if no such deal can be reached, "there is the very real possibility Adrian does USF."

Teams have until August 15 to sign their draft picks, so at this point, any updates short of signings are as much leverage as anything else. In other news, former USF catcher Braulio Pardo has signed with the Angels, so here's another link to Ed Encina's story.