Jordan Westburg signs with Baltimore Orioles

Former MSU shortstop is officially a pro ballplayer

The banana man is Baltimore bound.

Former Mississippi State shortstop Jordan Westburg, who was taken in the first round of the MLB Draft earlier this month with the 30th overall selection by Baltimore, has signed with the Orioles. According to MLB Pipeline, Westburg's signing bonus with the Orioles was $2,365,500 – the full slot value of the 30th overall selection. 

Westburg becomes the fourth player with MSU ties to sign with the professional franchises that took them in this year's draft. Fellow first-round picks, signee Austin Hendrick (Cincinnati Reds) and second baseman Justin Foscue (Texas Rangers), have signed, as has third-round pick and MSU signee Blaze Jordan (Boston Red Sox)

The lone Bulldog to not put pen to paper is pitcher J.T. Ginn, a second-round selection by the New York Mets. 

So far, all MSU players have signed for $1.75 million or more. Foscue's bonus with the Rangers was for $3.25 million. Jordan signed for $1.75 million with the Red Sox. Hendrick then inked with the Reds for $4 million ahead of Westburg signing on Saturday.

All eyes now turn to Ginn. While many expect Ginn to eventually sign with the Mets, New York will likely have to offer a good bit more than Ginn's $1.4 million slot value.

Though Ginn is coming off of elbow surgery, he has leverage in his favor. If he returned to Mississippi State for the 2021 season, he'd still be just a sophomore. In theory, he could reenter next year's draft (or the one after that) and possibly see if he could better his draft stock and get a better deal. 

Players have until August 1 to work out deals with the teams that picked them.