Luke Hochevar, SP, Wichita Wranglers

According to the Kansas City Star, Royals general manager Dayton Moore is sounding confident about the Hochevar negotiations. He said he feels "very comfortable with the direction of the negotiations" and expects to get him signed. They're not giving out specific details on the latest offer, but here's what the front office is dishing out:

The Royals are believed to be offering terms similar to those the Mets reached in January with right-hander Mike Pelfrey, a Boras client who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2005 draft.

Pelfrey’s deal included a $3.5 million signing bonus and guarantees sweetening the overall value to $5.3 million. It also contained escalator clauses that further boost the value if he is on the major-league roster in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

$5.3 million is a pretty nice deal for a prospect even though I'm not expecting him to remain a prospect for long. I read a tidbit on the Official Royals Site about how he's keeping in shape through simulated games and may play fall or winter ball. I'm just looking forward to the day when I get to update after one of those games instead of posting the weekly contract negotiation update.

There's finally another update on the negotiations from the Kansas City Star and it's not sounding good. It sounds like there hasn't been much progress and neither side is willing to give in to the other. And if this continues, Luke may not play at all this season.

“If he doesn’t get out and pitch,” Ladnier said, “that becomes undeniable at some point. I don’t know what that date is, but there’s no getting around that.”

The minor-league seasons conclude roughly around Labor Day, which leaves about seven weeks, but Hochevar is likely to require a conditioning period once he signs before entering active duty.

I don't like the way this is sounding. It doesn't sound like Boras is even trying to get anything done. Even though it would only be a few starts, I think getting any playing time would be beneficial to Luke and his image.

There isn't much to report but the Kansas City Star reported that Scott Boras does want more than the $4 million signing bonus that the Royals offered. It looks like this could drag on for a while, like so many other Boras cases.