The slot values of a team’s selections in the first 10 rounds are added up to that team’s overall bonus pool, the amount a team can spend on bonuses without being penalized. Any bonus over $125,000 paid to a player chosen in the 11th-40th rounds also counts against that pool. The Nationals’ pool is $5,503,500, fourth-lowest in the majors.

The Nationals have not disclosed their deals with the rest of their top 10 choices — all of whom have signed — though a person familiar with the signings said they signed second-rounder Wil Crowe to a slot value deal. One person familiar with their signings indicated that they have plenty of pool space left for Romero.

The last of the Nationals’ top 10 picks to agree to terms (besides Romero) did so last week, when LSU second baseman Cole Freeman — a fourth-round choice — signed his deal, one he announced on Twitter. The rest of the top 10 had signed by late June.

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Among the players on whom the Nationals might have spent more than their assigned slot value was 15th rounder Bryce Montes De Oca, a University of Missouri right-hander who dropped in the draft because of injuries and suspicion that he would be tough to sign. The Nationals took him, hoping to entice him with a professional signing bonus. They now expect De Oca to head back to school, perhaps freeing up more money.

The Nationals expected to get a deal done with Romero all along, though agent Scott Boras indicated less certainty earlier in the week and said it was too soon to tell if any dealbreakers might arise. Both sides seemed to expect negotiations to heat up nearer the deadline, and history supports that forecast.

Since General Manager Mike Rizzo took over in 2009, the Nationals have never failed to sign a first-round pick. Since Rizzo took over, the Nationals have drafted seven Boras clients in the first round, including Romero. The previous six all signed within hours — if not minutes — of the deadline.

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Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010) came down to the final moments before what was, at that time, a midnight deadline. Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer, and Brian Goodwin, the first-round class of 2011, all signed at the last minute. Erick Fedde, the Nationals’ first round choice in 2014, agreed to his deal about three hours before the deadline. As one Nationals executive put it earlier this week, “we’ve danced this dance before,” and indeed the two sides found their stride in plenty of time this time around.

Romero seemed to have far less leverage than those other choices, as he was dismissed from the University of Houston baseball team in the middle of his junior season for what amounted to an extended resume of unsavory conduct. According to the reporting of the Houston Chronicle, his history with the Cougars included a failed drug test, poor conditioning, and a fight with a teammate, among other transgressions. While Romero could return to his college team, he could also choose to play independent ball for a season, a seemingly unlikely route, but nevertheless a possibility that provided some measure of leverage to his camp.