Oxford High School shortstop Carter Johnson won’t be starting his college baseball career at Alabama next season. Instead, he’s headed for an assignment in the Miami Marlins organization.

The Marlins have persuaded Johnson to start his pro career after selecting him in the second round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday night. But it took a lot of convincing.

MLB Pipeline and the Miami Herald reported on Saturday that the Marlins and Johnson had agreed on a $2.8 million signing bonus.

Johnson became the first player drafted directly from an Alabama high school since 2022 when Miami took him at No. 56. That slot in the draft comes with a signing value of $1,603,400. But it took almost $1.2 million more to get Johnson to bypass the Crimson Tide.

Each selection in the first 10 rounds of the draft carries an assigned monetary value, with the total for a club’s picks equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty from Major League Baseball.

On Friday, the Marlins introduced their No. 1 draft pick, PJ Morlando, an outfielder from Summerville High School in South Carolina. As the No. 16 pick, Morlando’s assigned slot value was $4,704,700. But reports indicated Miami signed Morlando for $3.4 million, which left the Marlins with the money to go over slot to secure Johnson.

A two-time All-State selection, Johnson helped Oxford win the AHSAA Class 6A championship in 2023, then batted .364 with 46 runs and 21 RBIs in 2024, when he was successful on 14-of-15 stolen-base attempts.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.