The 2020-21 international signing period is officially underway, and though this signing period is open until Dec. 15, 2021, many of the big names have already signed. Teams have long since lined up deals with newly eligible teenage players, so the news today largely represents confirmation of what was anticipated. Still, it’s a day of no small moment, particularly for the young men embarking upon professional careers.
Let’s round up some of the most notable signings of the day. Most of these agreements have been known for awhile, as both Baseball America’s Ben Badler (signings tracker; scouting links) and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter feed; rankings) have listed each club’s expected landing spot and approximate signing bonus on their rankings for months. You can find each team’s total bonus pool and other information on the process right here. Check the above links for further information and other signings. Despite today’s announcements, many of these deals won’t become official for even a couple of weeks, notes Sanchez. Here are a few key deals:
- Yoelqui Céspedes, OF, White Sox: The half-brother of outfielder Yoenis Céspedes, the Cuban outfielder joins a strong international tradition in Chicago with the White Sox, who currently field Cuban stars such as reigning AL MVP Jose Abreu, centerfielder Luis Robert, and third baseman Yoan Moncada. MLB.com has Céspedes ranked as the top international prospect in this class thanks to being a “a five-tool player with above-average tools across the board.” Baseball America is slightly less bullish, putting him at No. 12 on their board, noting that the pandemic limited opportunities for scouting. The 23-year-old will be one of the older prospects from this class to sign, and though he has the ability to play center, Robert’s presence in Chicago means he is probably ticketed for right. The White Sox also signed Cuban hurler Norge Vera for $1.5MM. Vera came in at No. 15 on MLB.com’s rankings. Fangraphs has Cespedes as Chicago’s new No. 25 ranked prospect, and Vera at No. 14.
- Armando Cruz, SS, Nationals: Cruz officially joined the Nationals today for the most money the Nationals have ever paid out to single player during the international signing period, with The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter) pegging the final number at $3.9MM. BA writes in their scouting report, “He’s a defensive wizard with phenomenal hands and a strong arm, combining the ability to make acrobatic, highlight plays along with the internal clock and game savvy well beyond his years.” The Nationals signed 11 international players in total, notes Ghiroli.
- Pedro Leon, OF, Astros: Houston will pay $4MM to add MLB.com’s 7th-ranked international prospect to their system, per Sanchez. Baseball America has Leon as the top prospect of his class. Like Céspedes, the Cuban outfield is one of the older members of this class, but he brings plus speed, power, and the ability to stick in centerfield.
- Manuel Beltre, SS, Blue Jays: The Blue Jays added perhaps the most advanced hitter of the class in Beltre. MLB.com has Beltre as the No. 24 ranked prospect in the class, signing for $2.6MM, though Shi Davidi of Sportnet.ca (via Twitter) pegs the final number to be closer to $2.35MM. The Dominican shortstop could ultimately end up at second base, Sanchez writes, but he has arm enough to stay at short.
- Pedro Pineda, OF, Athletics: MLB Insider Jon Heyman (via Twitter) has Pineda signing with Oakland for less than $4MM, but the sum isn’t likely to fall far below that threshold. Baseball America has Pineda as the No. 11 ranked prospect in this class, writing, “Pineda is a strong, athletic, physical center fielder with a loud tool set and a power/speed threat. He has excellent speed, a fast bat and the power potential to hit 25-plus home runs.”
Several other well-regarded prospects also secured bonuses of $2MM or more, with the specifics provided here by Sanchez:
First time a Cespedes has been mentioned this offseason.
What happened to that other guy? Is he still in the league?
The wild boar came back to finish the job.
HAHAHA
They are too busy at the Family BBQ
✊white Sox got this he is ranked # 1 the Cubs Christian H is the 5 Th best that might end up number 2
Phillies have been linked to Perez-C out of Venezuela. Really good bat to ball skills. Solid young talent to add to the system.
Ok Perez has officially signed with Phillies.
According to industry sources, another international signing was just made The Boston Red Sox have signed 16 yr old international prospect Outfielder Miguel Bleis. 6′ 3″ 175 lbs. Signed for 1.5 Million
Does he go by “‘Mookie”?
I love the A-Rod/Machado comps for Hernandez.. All Cubs fans should be happy about this signing. Hopefully he can reach his potential.
I have a q…. was Roderick Arias supposed to be in this group ?
No. These guys are from the July 2020 class.
Arias falls under the next group, July 2021. Still TBD if they open the signing period up in July or postpone again.
Excited for Pedro Leon. Has all the tools and the Astros need some OF depth. Hope he can play some good ball in the MiLB and help the big league team sooner rather than later.
Cant say the Jays didnt sign anyone this offseason anymore at least
GM signed himself. Honestly surprised he closed that deal. lol
President. Not the GM.
Any news on Colas?
“There’s a good bit of hype surrounding Colas, some of which stems from the dubious “Cuban Ohtani” moniker associated with him. That seems an unfair and frankly misleading nickname to place on a player who, despite reportedly possessing a fastball that can touch 95 mph, has pitched just 3 1/3 professional innings, all of which came as a 19-year-old during the 2018-19 Cuban National Series. Colas didn’t pitch during his time with the Hawks. Ohtani, meanwhile, had 543 innings of 2.52 ERA ball with 624 strikeouts in NPB by the time he jumped to the Majors as a 23-year-old.
Colas spent the bulk of his time in Japan with the Hawks’ minor league club in the Japan Western League, which is certainly sensible given that he was just 18 upon reporting to the Hawks for his first season. He struggled in his first Western League campaign but raked at a .302/.350/.516 clip in 2019, earning a promotion to the Hawks’ big league roster as a 20-year-old. Colas homered in his first plate appearance after the promotion and went 5-for-18 with that homer, a walk and six strikeouts in 21 trips to the plate. During his first two years with the Hawks, he’d also suit up during the winter for his pro team in Cuba. Overall, in parts of three seasons in Cuba’s top league, Colas is a .305/.381/.487 hitter.
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen doesn’t have Colas near the top of his international prospect rankings, writing that he’s a “more stable prospect as a lefty first base/designated hitter/right field type” than as a pitcher. That’s not to say that a team won’t try to develop him on the mound, but comparisons to Ohtani simply don’t seem appropriate.
For all the intrigue surrounding the 22-year-old Colas, there’s also considerable uncertainty, both as to when he might actually sign and whether clubs will view him as a legitimate two-way option or prefer to focus on developing his abilities as a hitter and outfielder.”
I used to really enjoy RC.
His cousin Coca is a hot prospect as well.
I read somewhere that he might not sign till next year. Most teams already committed a good chuck of their available funds before he was eligible.
What’s with changing the screen name, Aaron? Can’t hide that writing style.
Googling Armando Cruz was not what I was expecting…
lmao I saw that yesterday
I don’t care if they aren’t related, but I may finally like the Jays now that they’ve signed Beltre.
Beltre is probably my favorite non Jay.
But still can’t enjoy a Rangers game as long as Odor is stinking up the place
Ditto.
Ironically, Manuel has been compared to… a young Adrian Beltre.
Beltre was one of the greatest. 14 yr old, that is saying a lot.
Gotta watch Pelotero again.
7 of the 10 are SS
Almost all unsigned international teenage prospects are either SS, CF or C and its always been like this.
I’d like think that’s probably similar to high school players in The States
SS tend to be better athletes. Once these guys fill out as they grow older they can be shifter around the diamond to a more suitable position.
Jim thome was a SS when he was 16. Most of these guys will end up elsewhere.
Giants sign SS Diego Velasquez of Venezuela for $1M. #22 Intl on mlb.com
Zaidi is stockpiling SS?
No such thing, most good unsigned teenage position players are almost always either SS, CF or C, and then move as they get older or team need.
OMG-he looks like a 10 year old!!
mlb.com/prospects/international/diego-velasquez-69…
Reds sign Ariel Almonte OF $1.9M
Athletics signed Pedro Pineda CF $4M
Funny how no one talks about how they always have money for teens, but not for actual MLB players.
Got popped for PED’s a few years ago. Surprised the offer still stood.
The Orioles are getting in on the party. Giving out the 1st 2 seven figure deals in club history. 16-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo from the Dominican Republic for 1.3 million and 17-year-old shortstop Maikol Hernandez from Venezuela for 1.2 million.
Finally!
Pirates signing another OFer named Polanco? What could go wrong?
That’s what I was thinking. They’d be better off if the kids name was Marte.
Other than Cespedes, there aren’t any guesses to the ages of these players? I understand age is just a number, but is this information just imaginary when it is shared?
They were 16 year olds at the time of the Previous July 2nd deadline. They are currently 16 to 17 due to the signing delay
Gregorys little bro?
angels got a good one!
Waiting for dodgers to sign wilman Diaz and jesus galiz.
No mention of Miguel Bleis to the Red Sox?
Why do the cubs need another SS? They just got 2 in the Yu deal who are just as young as Cristian Hernandez but they always have Javy Baez, Nico Hoerner, they drafted Ed Howard IV last year. I get it all Howard and the other 3 are years from the ML level but when they extend Baez for at least 5 years what’s gonna happen next. Howard is a legit superstar. Luckily Baez can play 3rd and 2nd just as well as he does SS. They’ll need a replacement for Rizzo in 5-6 years. Pending his much deserved extention he should’ve gotten 3 years ago.
Most international prospects are listed at up the middle positions cause that is where all the best kids play. As they see him in person and start the development he will likely be moved to where the organization sees the best fit.
That makes sense. The SS is usually the defensive player on the team. Which on many teams that is the case. I’m not sure there’s more than a handful of exceptions. Mookie and Arenado for sure at RF and 3rd.
Almost all unsigned international teenage prospects are either SS, CF or C and its always been like this. They move based on team need.
Mookie was a 2nd baseman ,, Arenado was a SS
And those are 3 players you build your team around and they should be your best defensive players too. Right up the middle of the diamond.
Howard highest level of playing baseball was high school in Chicago, Illinois at Mount Carmel high school. It is too way early to consider him a super star. He hasn’t faced quality pitching and did not play in 2020 due to the pandemic. Howard does show flashes of talent but it’s a whole different game playing high school baseball and jumping to the next level in the minor leagues.
The Twins have been drafting SS for the last 10 years and none of them end up playing SS. Their #1 prospect is a SS. They need to be developing 3B since Donaldson won’t be around much longer.
The Pirates spent more money on one Int’l prospect than they’ll spend on their entire MLB team additions this season!
Yes, but what a glorious spend it was.
So, Detroit 2010-2013 have a shortstop Jhonny Peralta–who I liked–who could hit but was slow. He had very good accuracy but little range. The two biggest issues the Tigers had at the time was a poor closer and an infield with no range. Thus the Tigers would score an abundance of runs but regularly lose games–particularly to better teams. The Tigers would score 7-8-9 runs through six innings and lose 10-8. Jhonny Peralta was the shortstop. So who do the Tigers draft for shortstop? Jhonny Peralta’s twin on their way to re-creating the 2012 Tigers. SMH.
Jhonny could hit but was slow. Jhonny had very good accuracy but little range. Jhonny was also a wiz at math problems but had issues with phonics.
Cespedes, Schmespedes. Meh. Wonder what’s in this large Green metallic contraption?
I have a really bad feeling the White Sox and Rick Hahn are going to sign the older Cespedes to a minor league deal, and try to sell him as an option for DH. They wanted him in the past, and have a thing for signing or trying to sign the family members of players who have been in the system (Elijah Tatis, Cole Gillespie, was expected to draft Nick Burdi in Rule 5 had he been available).
The lack of early movement on this front makes me think they are going to pull a “go cheap” move like this, which is what they did last year with EE.
@maximumvelocity
EE probably wasn’t the best example to use for a “go cheap” move. At $12MM, you could easily argue the Sox got ripped off big time based off his production. But I get what you mean with the elder Cespedes.
Keep in mind, the Sox only need a temp DH until Vaughn is ready. That’s why I’d have no problem with a Collins/Mercedes DH tandem until Vaughn comes up. I’m sure he’s not quite ready yet, but he may very well be close. Yes, Schaumburg isn’t the same as AAA, but I don’t know it is all that much different.
You don’t want the DH position tied up for too long–especially longer than one season. That’s foolish, because either you’re completely blocking Vaughn’s MLB path or you platoon Vaughn/Abreu at 1B. That’s also why it would be foolish to put Eloy at DH any time these next 2 seasons. You don’t want to take the bat out of either Abreu or Vaughn’s hands. And if by chance (huge if) Abreu is still at the top of his game after ’22, I’m sure he will be back in ’23 until he is no longer productive.
Of course, if Vaughn regresses into a turd at AAA, my argument completely falls apart. I guess we’ll see starting in ST and extending at least into the first part of the AAA season for Vaughn.
People are unfairly expecting too much out of Vaughn. He has never played above A-ball, and wasn’t exactly lighting it up when given the opportunity. Last year, he hit the same pitchers in camp.
I fully expect that he could not be ready the entire season, and that he would need the entire year of upper-level pitching to get ready for 2022. And I don’t think this would be manipulation — I detest what Hahn typically does.
And no, I would not be fine with Collins/Mercedes. Collins has failed to show any life in 100 plate appearances, and for reasons I do not understand, but ones that leave me concerned, Mercedes was never given a shot the past two years.
I have a problem with the logic that you couldn’t afford to roll with that duo in either of the past two seasons, yet in a season in which they have a shot at contention, they are suddenly good enough.
If they found a DH option who could also play RF, there would be no issue, because Eaton is only on a one-year deal, and probably will end up getting hurt anyway if history prevails. Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario or Yasiel Puig would upgrade the DH (they can hit there, or they can more Eloy, or rotate) but would not have any impact on Vaughn. By the time Vaughn would be ready for this season, I fully expect both Eaton and Leury to be hurt, which gives an opportunity for everyone to continue getting playing time.
I also don’t know why people aren’t considering Gavin Sheets for DH, if you must go internally. I’m at the point where I trust his bat more than Collins.
@maximumvelocity
Cut Vaughn a little slack, he had all of a couple months worth of MiLB after getting drafted, and the fact that it was 3 levels by the end of the season isn’t too shabby. And it’s not like he’s a lottery ticket–he was the #3 overall pick in ’19, so there are high expectations for him. I guess we’ll see where he starts the season as to how close he is to MLB.
As for Collins, I wouldn’t say he showed no life in his 100 PA. He looked decent in Sept ’19, when he got the bulk of his PA. It’s a very small sample size but once he got playing time and finally got going, in his final 10 games he hit .324/.405/.541 (OPS .946). Again, very small sample size, but that’s the closest he’s ever had to a real chance of playing every day. He’s only started 29 games in his career, and 18 of those starts took place in Sept ’19.
As you said, neither Collins nor Mercedes has been given the chance. If not this year, then when?
And if Gavin Sheets is your cup of tea instead of Collins/Mercedes, then great. My point is why blow a bunch of money on a DH that might or might not work when you could save that money for a potential July blockbuster to get that final piece. The current projected lineup is already loaded. They can afford to play with the DH position to find the right fit until Vaughn makes it up. If they can’t find anyone internally for the DH position and Vaughn isn’t ready this year, then get a rental in July.
As for the Sox lineup being loaded, the 8 position players:
C Grandal
1B Abreu
2B Madrigal
3B Yoan
SS TA
LF Eloy
CF Robert
RF Eaton
Eaton is the weak link of the group, and you can do a lot worse than him.
Yes, Madrigal doesn’t have any power, but he’s not batting in the middle of the order either. Nothing wrong with a guy who can get on base a ton with singles.
So gambling on an internal DH isn’t that big of a gamble.