Hood had made it rather clear that he was signable. Said he wanted to sign, and that baseball was his first love. Certainly he had something to fall back on if negotiations didn't go his way, but he wasn't a Lee or Cole type of signability issue.
I think the team will go after Cole very hard. They went rather safe with most of the picks after Cole. Even Solis and Hague won't break the bank. I think they'll go after Cole and if something doesn't happen with him, the later guys like Ray and Simms may have more money fall into their lap than they imagined.
