Pirates GM Addresses Draft Picks’ Shocking Decision

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates missed out on one of their top picks in the 2025 MLB Draft, sparking concern as to why they made the pick in the first place.

Angel Cervantes, who the Pirates took with the 50th overall pick in the second round, announced on July 23 that he is staying committed to UCLA over signing with the Pirates.

Cervantes, who played played for Earl Warren High School in Downey, Calif., a city just 13 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

He had an excellent senior season in 2025, with a 7-3 record and a 1.59 ERA, 106 strikeouts and four complete games, earning Gateway League Pitcher of the Year honors.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said at a press conference on July 27 that they knew that taking Cergantes might not result in him signing, as they wanted to take the best player on their draft board at that pick.

Cherington also said that they planned for Cervantes not signing and that it allowed them to sign players later in the draft that they may not have signed.

He also noted that they will get the pick back next year, the 51st overall, in the 2026 MLB Draft, which the Pirates are happy about as well.

"I do expect he's going to attend UCLA. We respect that decision," Cherington said. "As a group, we spent a lot of time over the past several months getting to know Angel and his family and obviously, we really like him. We wouldn't have taken him where we did if we didn't and he's a really talented young high school pitcher. Believe he should flourish at UCLA. As we got closer to that pick in the draft, we wanted to honor our board as much as we possible can and he was the player we believed was the best player on our board at the time we selected. We understood when we selected him that there was a risk."

"We understood enough about the situation, what we were hearing about him and his representatives that there was some risk that he would not sign. We took him knowing that. We planned for that in the later rounds and after the 10th round and we did, I believe, made a very aggressive and fair offer for him, which he ultimately chose to turn down, and I respect that."

Some speculated that Cervantes, the 49th best player in the draft class according to MLB Pipeline, might've stayed at UCLA due to NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), which gives college players power to profit off of their own image and earn money in other ways.

Cherington didn't comment on the NIL for Cervantes, but that his family plays a big role and staying close to home for college baseball is a plus.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know what his NIL situation is," Cherington said. "I'm sure it's a factor. He's also a Southern California kid from a family that I think values that proximity that UCLA provides and being on campus. I don't want to speak for all the factors that led to his decision, but yeah, it's a new world, for sure. That's a piece of it for every player."