The New York Yankees last week signed former N.C. State pitcher Andrew Brackman to a four-year Major League contract.
A press release from the Yankees media relations office also said the contract includes three additional club-option years that Wolfpack associate head coach Tom Holliday said can be considered incentive clauses.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was unavailable to respond to a phone call and e-mail message requesting comment.
According to Wolfpack Athletics, the contract is worth $4.5 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus. The club-option years could take the value of the contract up to “about $13 million,” according to Holliday.
Brackman had been expected to go as high as the top-three picks in the draft, according to ESPN pre-draft predictions, but concerns over his elbow injury dropped to the final pick in the first round, where the Yankees picked him.
Holliday said the Pack’s coaching staff knew the signing was coming even if it went right up to MLB’s deadline for signing draft picks.
“We knew he was going to sign, and we knew his representation did a great job explaining his injury during his junior year,” he said. “No one was hiding anything. We knew the Yankees would sign him and make him happy. We’re all elated with the value of the contract for Andrew.”
Phone messages left on Brackman’s cell phone Monday and Tuesday requesting comment were not immediately returned.
John Tart, III, a senior double majoring in poultry science and animal science, said he wasn’t surprised by Brackman’s drop in the first round.
“He was still a first-round pick, which is good no matter how you look at it,” Tart said. “His arm fatigue toward the end of the year was a sure reason he dropped in his draft stock. The further you fall in the first round, though, the better the teams obviously and the more chance at winning a title if you can make the team.”
Despite the drop in the first round, Holliday said Brackman can serve as a “great example” for other MLB hopefuls.
“That was a great example of Andrew Brackman’s draft status out of high school and how he drastically improved that by coming to school here,” Holliday said. “N.C. State was the vehicle for that. He went from a relatively unknown player out of high school to a first-round pick. It’ll help us convince other players they can come here, and it’ll help them get to that level. It’ll help sell the program.”
Holliday said although Brackman’s elbow did not hinder his contract signing, surgery to repair the damage is still “inevitable.” Holliday said he expects Brackman to undergo Tommy John surgery, which is a ligament-reconstruction surgery.
“[The Yankees are] going to let him try to throw some to see if it flares up again,” he said. “But in my experience, it will. He’s going to need Tommy John surgery, and it’s going to be 12 to 16 months before he’s back to normal. If his surgery goes well, it’ll be a win-win situation for everyone.”
Holliday said if not for Brackman’s elbow injury, State could have made an appearance in the College World Series.
“I saw him pitch a game against Coastal Carolina [earlier in the season] — the game was as well-pitched as I’ve seen since Roger Clemens beat [Oklahoma State, where Holliday previously coached] back in 1983 or 1984 in the College World Series,” he said.
“If we had that same performer the last five weeks of the season, he could have easily pitched N.C. State into the College World Series. Andrew Brackman and the rest of our pitching staff would have made N.C. State a College World Series team, without a doubt.”
