Right-hander Mark Appel, the eighth overall pick in last month's MLB First Year Player Draft, has announced he will return to Stanford for his senior season.
Appel and the Pirates failed to reach a contract agreement by Friday's deadline of 2 p.m. Pacific. Pittsburgh's final offer was 3.8 million, according to The Associated Press.
"After much thought, prayer and analysis of both opportunities, I came to the conclusion the best decision is to remain at Stanford continuing my studies, finishing my degree, and doing all I can to assist the Cardinal baseball team in our goal to win a national championship," said Appel.
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"I greatly valued the prospect of a professional opportunity and I will pursue a professional baseball career after getting my Stanford degree. I am blessed that God has given me the opportunity to choose between two great options and the talents to play baseball. I am also thankful for the love, support, and guidance from everyone who helped me make this decision."
Appel earned first team All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball after posting a 10-2 record with a 2.56 ERA in his 16 starts last season as junior. He has a career record of 18-10 to go along with a 3.22 ERA.
"Our final offer exceeded the available bonus pool money and was essentially up to the last dollar we could offer before falling into the second tier penalty which would have resulted in the loss of a first-round draft selection," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement.
"While, as we have shown in past years, we are willing to be aggressive with our financial offer, we simply did not feel it was in the best interest of the organization to forfeit our first round selection in the 2013 amateur draft.
Huntington called selecting Appel "a calculated risk, as we knew he would be a difficult sign. As an organization." But he said the organization wishes Appel the best.