According to a source, the Mets have signed eighth round pick Boston Baro to a $700,000 signing bonus. The slot value for the pick is $192,900. Baro played this season at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California, and had a commitment to UCLA.

Baro, 18, was ranked as high as 98th by Baseball America in pre-draft prospect rankings. Baro is one of three prep shortstops the Mets took in the 2023 draft. They took Colin Houck with their first pick (32nd overall) and drafted A.J. Ewing (134th overall) with their compensation pick from Jacob deGrom signing with the Rangers.

Ewing has said he will sign with the Mets, along with prep third baseman Jake Zitella (16th) round, though neither of them has officially signed yet.

From MLB Pipeline:

At 6-foot-2, Baro has a narrow and athletic frame with a loose, easy left-handed swing that reminds some of former SoCal prep standout Brice Turang. He has an excellent approach at the plate, sees the ball well and doesn’t swing and miss much. He may never be a huge power guy, but if he can add strength to that frame, there should be more impact — the one part of his offensive game in question — in the future. Baro will record average to above-average run times now, but that added strength should help him be faster as he matures. He should also improve his arm strength over time and that, along with his easy actions defensively, gives him a very nice shortstop starter kit.

Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that the Mets officially signed fourth rounder RHP Austin Troesser ($128,200 underlsot), sixth rounder RHP Jack Wenninger ($74,800 underslot), seventh rounder Noah Hall ($58,750 underslot), ninth rounder 3B Nick Lorusso ($125,100 underslot), and 10th rounder C Christian Pregent ($115,800 underslot). The Mets have also signed undrafted free agent RHP Dakota Hawkins to a six-figure signing bonus.

The Mets’ total signing bonus pool for the 2023 draft is $8,440, 400, and Houck is expected to get more than his slot value of $2,607,500.