Done deal: Stassi signs

Sunday night Jim Stassi had nothing to say.

He replied to questions concerning his son's signing status with a somewhat discouraged, cracked tone.

"There's nothing. There's nothing at all right now," he said. "We'll know more tomorrow."

That tone changed on Monday evening.

Sitting at friend and former teammate Justin Lamb's house around noon on Monday, Max Stassi received the call he had been waiting for — his advisor.

It was finally something.

"I saw the 949 area code and I knew it. I told Lamb that this was the deal," Max Stassi said.

He was right.

Nine hours before deadline, the Oakland Athletics and Stassi agreed to a one-year contract, which includes a $1.5 million signing bonus and an invitation to spring training — and tuition paid for if Stassi chooses to attend college. Jim Stassi said all first-year players get $1,100 a month as their base salary, which adds up to $13,200 a year.

The A's also signed first-round pick Grant Green and seventh-round pick Ian Krol before deadline.

"I was pretty confident the deal was going to get done, but it is a relief too," Max Stassi said. "Now it's time to move on, get to know all the guys and play. I'm really excited."

Stassi, who graduated this past spring and played a season with the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox, will travel to Arizona on Wednesday to play in a few games with the Arizona Rookie League Athletics, before heading up to Vancouver to play out the rest of the Vancouver Canadians single-A short season. He then expects to return home in September for a few days before traveling back to Arizona for the Instructional League.

"It's been such a long process; it was a big sigh of relief to be honest with you," Jim Stassi said. "It was pretty emotional. You can talk about it for a long time, but it's a different feeling when it happens.

"Its been his life long dream to be able to have an opportunity to play professional baseball. This is all very rewarding for us."

The Stassi's worked with advisor Greg Ginske and had until 9 p.m. Monday to get a deal done. Stassi's fallback plan was a full-ride scholarship to UCLA.

"They knew what the bottom line was from keeping him from going to school. We made that clear from the start," Jim Stassi said. "We kind of thought it was all hinging on if they signed their first- and second-round picks, too."

Also instrumental in assisting the Stassi's was Florida Marlins scout Scott Goldby.

"He helped us and me out a lot. He's a good family friend and had a huge impact on this whole thing," Max Stassi said. "A lot of families sort of go into this blindly, but he helped us out on how the system works and gave us a scout's perspective. He's tremendous."

Of course, $1.5 million is a lot of dough for an 18-year-old.

And of course, the young Stassi already has plans, big plans.

"With the economy the way it is, I want to buy a house in Arizona and one in this area," he said.