Spending power could prove pivotal for D-Backs in draft

With a little more than $16 million to spend, the Diamondbacks have the largest draft bonus pool in baseball, meaning they have a chance to make waves when the draft gets underway on Monday night.

How they plan to wield that clout is something that’s to be determined, Assistant General Manager Amiel Sawdaye said.

“I can’t tell you that,” Sawdaye said on Sunday. “And not that I can’t tell you for strategy purposes, I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I think a lot of it just depends on how the board plays out. You can play it straight and still have a really good draft. You can have guys fall that you don’t anticipate falling and have to spend more money to sign those players, then end up doing different things later. It’s tough to tell right now.”

The Diamondbacks will pick seven times on Monday, including four in the first 33 selections. Their first pick, at No. 16, is their true first rounder. They’ll pick again at No. 26, which is their comp pick for last year’s unsigned first-round pick, infielder Matt McLain. Picks Nos. 32 and 33 are comp picks from the departures of free agents Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock.

Clubs that have had large bonus pools have occasionally been able to drive high-priced players to their later picks, promising them over-slot bonuses by going under slot on other selections. Sawdaye said the club has players in mind for all possible scenarios but will have to wait to see which path they end up going down.

“Since we have a multitude of picks, it’s a little more unclear as to who’s going to get to our second or third pick,” Sawdaye said. “The first pick, we still don’t have a good gauge, but I think we have a better idea. We’re trying to put the pieces together on that.”

The Diamondbacks have $16,093,700 in their bonus pool, with the Orioles ($13.8 million), Royals ($13.1 million), Marlins ($13 million) and White Sox ($11.6 million) rounding out the Top 5.

Peralta could be activated Monday

Diamondbacks left fielder David Peralta could be activated prior to Monday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field, manager Torey Lovullo said.

Peralta, who is nursing discomfort in his right shoulder, took eight at-bats in an extended spring training game on Saturday and felt good on Sunday, according to Lovullo.

Short hop

Jake Lamb “felt good” on Sunday after taking five at-bats in an extended spring training game on Saturday and is scheduled to resume baseball activities on Monday at Chase Field.