"The Padres signed Dominican third base prospect Duanel Jones for $900K, now that the commissioner's office has cleared the prospect's paperwork, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock." Jones had reportedly signed with the Giants in December for $1.3MM, but they voided the contract a month later over a failed drug test. ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. suggested the 16-year-old could face a 50-game suspension depending on MLB's investigation."

"MLB.com's Corey Brock reported that the signing had become official, over a month after that SI's Melissa Segura first reported the agreement (Twitter link)"

Jones now 17, had been tagged as a 16 year old third base "phenom", and one of the best prospects in the Dominican Republic with a solid build (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) that projects power, some speed and a plus arm,  It's not a shocking move considering it was reported over a moth ago that the two sides were close to signing however, I do like the way the Padres are gambling  on his exceptional talent. In my opinion the Padres need to continue to be aggressive with the draft and low risk high reward type players.

“We’ve steered away from guys we thought were older and we’ve bought into (other) players because we liked their ability,” Randy Smith said. “If they said they were 16 and we thought they were 18 and we thought they were prospects, we might go ahead.

“You try to minimize the risk, but nobody’s immune to it. If you can do anything possible to minimize the risk, it’s still a very productive place to scout.”

Randy Smith is currently the director of international scouting and player development for the San Diego Padres.