Cubs fined $500,000 by MLB

By Jon Heyman, SI.com

The Cubs' fine for violations related to the June draft of first-year players was a whopping $500,000, SI.com has learned.

Major League Baseball ruled that the Cubs violated a couple of baseball rules, including failing to report a signing to MLB's New York offices and putting the player on the field before receiving approval for the signing from MLB offices.

The Cubs were said by people familiar with the case to have exacerbated the situation by how they responded to MLB's concerns. MLB higherups apparently didn't believe Cubs people were completely forthcoming regarding their actions in the case when questioned about them.

Baseball disallows teams from making pre-draft deals, but it isn't known whether such an early deal is related to this case. However, the extent of the fine makes it clear how displeased MLB"s powers are about the situation.

ESPN.com first reported that the Cubs had been fined, but the amount of the fine had been unknown.