Well good. Then he's signed! With phrases like "right now" and "after the deadline." If you ended discussions, those aren't the words you'd use. If you've signed but can't talk about it until August 15th, you might say something like that. My guess would be that he is hedging his bet until the league approves. Sounds like the Cubs are going to try to get an awful lot of signings through the Comish's office. He might balk at a few. how can he do that? a kid wants to sign for a certain amount, the team agrees, they sign. if he doesn't approve them, can't both sides just sue MLB?