Orioles working to sign Preston Palmeiro as deadline approaches

Here is the latest on the Orioles' draft signings as all major league teams face a deadline at 5 p.m. ET on Friday to complete them.

The Orioles continue to pursue their seventh-round pick, N.C. State first baseman Preston Palmeiro, the son of former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro. An industry source says the Orioles and Palmeiro's reps, including his father, have had "active discussions the last few days."

The slot amount for Palmeiro, taken with the 211th overall pick is $204,700, which is the exact amount remaining in the Orioles' bonus pool to sign their picks from the top 10 rounds. If Palmeiro signs, that is very likely the dollar figure he will get and it appears the Orioles are not open to going past that amount.

Baseball America's John Manuel reported that Palmeiro is in Baltimore to take a physical, but that still doesn't guarantee he will sign. Perhaps the Orioles want to know the results of the physical by the deadline in case Palmeiro's decision goes down to the wire.

Preston batted .337 with 20 doubles, nine home runs and 55 RBIs in 59 games as a junior. He was named second-team All-ACC in 2015 and made the academic honor roll for the second straight year. He's listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds.

The Orioles recently reached agreements with three other draft picks. They have agreed to a deal worth $107,300 with 16th-round selection, left-handed pitcher Willie Rios from Florida South Western State College. That deal is pending a physical. Players taken in Rounds 11 through 40 can be signed for up to $100,000. Teams can exceed that amount, but the overage, as this did, must come out of their pool for their picks in the top 10 rounds.

The Orioles also have agreements with Round 22 pick, right-handed pitcher Nick Gruener from Harvard, and Round 40 selection, right-handed pitcher Joe Johnson from Erskine College (S.C.).

The Orioles have signed all their picks from the top 10 rounds except Palmeiro and they have signed 12 of their first 13 picks. They drafted 25 players in the first 24 rounds and have signed 22. These latest agreements bring the O's current total of signed picks and/or agreements to 32 players with nine unsigned.

Many of the list of nine will go back to school and not turn pro right now. That is expected to included right-handed pitcher Tyler Blohm, the Orioles' Round 17 pick out of Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md., who is headed to the University of Maryland.

The Orioles are still trying to sign their 13th-round selection, lefty pitcher Brandon Bonilla out of Hawaii Pacific University. But there is an interesting twist here. As a fifth-year senior, Bonilla is not subjected to the Friday signing deadline. The Orioles could sign him at any point up to next year's draft and Bonilla's college eligibility is up at this point. He cannot return to school to play ball. He could play independent league baseball. The Orioles have made an offer to Bonilla and are waiting on a decision.

They also selected Bonilla in Round 25 in 2014, but failed to sign him then and he went back to school. Bonilla is the son of former Oriole Bobby Bonilla and the godson of Barry Bonds. The sides never came too close on a deal in 2014.

Brandon Bonilla was the closer this year and earned a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association's 2016 All-West Region First Team. He struck out 38 over 25 1/3 innings and posted a minuscule 0.36 ERA. He has a fastball that reaches the mid to high 90s and the Orioles have seen him touch 97 this year.