While the next international signing period opens on January 15, teams are already lining up the next wave of int’l prospects for years in advance. Washington City Paper’s Byron Kerr writes that the Nationals have agreed to a deal with outfielder/third baseman Elian Soto, the younger brother of superstar Juan Soto, as the 15-year-old has decided to join the D.C. organization when the 2023 signing period opens roughly a year from now. Reports from Z101’s Hector Gomez earlier this week suggested that the younger Soto was preparing to head to the Mets, and Soto seemingly confirmed matters by posting an Instagram video of himself wearing Mets-branded attire. New York was reportedly set to give Soto a $50K bonus, and while Brittany Ghiroli and Maria Torres of The Athletic report that the Nationals topped that offer, it wasn’t with a huge dollar figure, as the younger Soto has intriguing potential but isn’t considered a true top-tier prospect.
Though it is common practice for teams and international prospects to agree to deals well in advance of their eligibility date, deals aren’t completely official until a prospect’s signing period opens, so the younger Soto wasn’t breaking any rules by backing out of his Mets agreement. It also remains to be seen if the 2023 international signing period even exists in its current form, as it has long been speculated that MLB might overhaul the signing process and perhaps institute an international draft as part of the next collective bargaining agreement. This would wipe out the handshake deals teams have made with scores of younger prospects like Soto, and subject these players to a draft with a harder slot value (and less financial flexibility) than the one used in the North American amateur draft.
More from around baseball…
- Eric Hinske is one of the names the Yankees are considering for their hitting coach vacancy, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The 2002 AL Rookie Of The Year and a veteran of 12 big league seasons, Hinske would certainly fit the Yankees’ preference for an experienced former player to join their staff. Hinske also has an accomplished coaching resume, working as a first base coach, assistant hitting coach, and hitting coach over parts of seven seasons with the Cubs, Angels, and Diamondbacks. No stranger to the Bronx, Hinske played for the Yankees’ 2009 World Series team, and briefly worked as a scout for the Yankees before embarking on his coaching career.
- The Royals announced several promotions within their baseball operations department, with a pair of former big leaguers amongst those moving up the ladder. Paul Gibson is now the senior director of pitching, after the former southpaw worked in various scouting, special assistant, and pitching performance supervisory roles with the Royals since 2011. Former Kansas City outfielder and first base coach Mitch Maier is now the director of player development/field coordinator, following two seasons as the team’s director of baseball ops.
everyone’s avoiding the Mets lol
LOL to the Phillies with the same amount of World Series wins as the Mets with a 70 year head start.
Another Soto… oh no for the rest of the league
If he develops similar discipline and presemce in the box, the Nats will have scoted with Elian. More likely, Juan is unique in the previously mentioned intangibles to go with advanced maturity and pop.
I’m biased though, Soto is a keeper in one of my leagues.
Scored*
I wonder if the Nats did this hoping it makes Juan more likely to sign an extension. Some guys would love the opportunity to play on the same major league team as their brother is the younger Soto eventually makes it to that level. It seems like it will be a very small investment compared to what they would pay Juan for an extension.
I don’t think it’ll save them a single dollar on a Soto extension but if all things are equal—it may give them some goodwill. He’s 15 years old and a 50k bonus is nothing. So I’m thinking there’s a 1/100 shot he ever sniffs the 40 man roster—let alone the big league team.
But it definitely doesn’t hurt.
Yeah. I’m figuring they hope that as long as they match any contract he will opt to play with his brother if the money is the same.
Gibby!!. Got like a reliever that looked like a truck driver…
I want to congratulate Paul Gibson on becoming a “former southpaw”. Nice to have you join those of us on the “right”.
I’ve heard Elian Soto is supposed to be better than Juan….
Not according to the article above: “… the younger Soto has intriguing potential but isn’t considered a true top-tier prospect.”
I’m wondering how much can be confidently said about a player’s future potential when he’s only 15.
Yes, and if you notice, they tend to over-inflate every prospect… “he will be the next Mantle” and so on. Having a superstar’s younger brother makes the comp too easy for lazy/less competent evaluators, especially when the sibling is so much better than his competitors (right now). It all changes when they hit the Bigs though. He may never even make it to the Majors, which probability dictates he won’t. 15 is just so young to evaluate him, and him against competition that’s going to mature physically, mentally, and from a bigger pool of candidates.
Or, you could have a Piazza-like 62nd round draft pick, or whatever he was, turn out to be a HOFer.
How about Mike Maddux who played in over 470 games and made over $5 million in his career. Not bad at all!
Only lackluster when compared to his brother Greg!
I just doubt that much can be predicted of a player that age, unless he’s one of those specimens whose body matures at an accelerated rate. Most human males are still pretty far from physical maturity at 15. That’s just two years older than the oldest players competing in the Little League World Series until 13-year-olds were banned in 2019.
It seems like people might be looking at Elian the way people look at thoroughbreds in the horseracing racket, where much is made of their bloodlines. Maybe his genetic inheritance will prove highly significant in his case. Maybe not. Hank Aaron’s brother Tommie hit 13 home runs in 944 at-bats.
Enough to try and buy that 50k lottery ticket.
If I remember correctly, Juan Soto wasn’t also considered a top tier can’t miss prospect. That was supposed to be Robles.
SoCal:
Half correct, both you and them. Robles and Juan were both considered can’t miss absolutely elite top tier prospects. I certainly believed the hype for both of them from the very beginning. So I would be only half correct as well.
For some reason Robles was considered better because he was faster, I guess? Despite Juan having elite plate discipline, contact rates and power. Scouting overvalues speed massively.
Any ideas on from any fans on how Hinske performed in his previous coaching roles?
Better question would be could he still serve as the LH part of a platoon with Voit at 1B?
All kidding aside, it was interesting to watch Hinske during his tour of the AL East play in back-to-back-to-back World Series (winning 2) with the Redsox, Rays, and Yankees from ’07-09
Oh NOOO!!! Here come the cornies with that old corn.
This could be the tie-breaker if the Nationals and Mets are bidding against each other for the services of older brother Juan!
Hey guess what,?
You guess yet?
Yeah?
Well……….
THE METS SUCK!
Not a Mets’ fan, but it seems like they are tied for first right now.
They could get Juan Soto, Lucas g and they would still manage to finish under .500
They have a lot riding on the health of DeGrom and Scherzer. If the answer is TJ and dead arm, the Mets will be lucky to win 70 games. But if DeGrom and Scherzer are both healthy all season, they could win 95 and go all the way.
The odds are probably good that at least one of them will be mostly healthy. In which case, I project the Mets to finish second to the Braves and to be in the wildcard mix especially if the number of teams is expanded.
The doctors don’t know what will happen, so only the trolls are completely sure.
Now look what you’ve done, you have me defending the Mets. Haha.
It’s the Mets, I’d bet everything that the Phillies do better.
At least until the Phillies sign some free agents or make some trades, the Braves, Mets and Marlins are all better teams on paper than the Phillies.
Phillies outfield, Bryce Harper, and that’s it.
Phillies infield, J.T. Realmuto, and that’s almost it. There is an aging Segura, a lackluster Gregorious, a fading prospect in Bohm and a strikeout prone slugger in Hoskins.
Pitching, well Wheeler is a stud and Suarez is trying to catch lightning again. Nola is a great inning eater with lots of strikeouts but he would be no better than the third pitcher for the Braves, Mets or Marlins. I like the Corey Knebel pickup. With about four more pitchers they will have a bullpen.
Philadelphia is a great city with great fans, but they need a LOT to be in the mix. A LOT.
Some good stuff here but there are still moves to be made by all teams. I just have the feeling that Philly will make more significant moves than Florida at this point.
I hope my team gives Juan Soto a blank check when he’s a free agent. Same for deGrom when he opts out.
If I’m the Nats I’d be ensuring that Elian is the happiest minor leagues in history until Juan signs a contract.
I find this a bit curious. Elian, even if he does follow through on his commitment (no rule saying he has to and a year is a lot of time for a teenager to change his mind), he won’t be up before Juan hits FA. Obviously, the Nats are doing this in an effort to keep Juan, but baseball history is full of brothers who didn’t play on the same teams. Besides, if your older brother has comparable stats to Ted Williams through the same age, that’s a heckuva lot of pressure to live up to. The curious thing, though, is there’s no guarantee an extension gets done and no reason to commit to the Nats now. What if the Nats aren’t willing to go high enough or long enough and Soto cuts off talks and says he’ll go to FA? Elian could always sever his commitment to them, but there’s not much sense in making it now and cutting off negotiations with other teams. He could always just take the Nats’ offer next year.
A Soto extension will eclipse $500 million most likely. Or at least come close.
I don’t understand why the Yankees didn’t just make Chavez their hitting coach. They liked him enough as an assistant and he was a solid MLB player. He checked all the boxes and previously worked for the front office. Seems like a mistake to let him walk to the Mets instead of offering him the same job. Steinbrenner needs to sell the Yankees because it’s obvious that Cohen is trying to fill George’s shoes. The Yankees are quickly becoming the “other team” in NY and the blame lies with Hal. The Yankees should care very little about the luxury tax. It’s a tax on the overage not the entirety of their payroll. Signing another star to a $20m contract would have cost the Yankees a few million in tax. Instead Hal watches every nickel and the Yankees dealt with holes all year. The Dodgers went almost $70m over the tax last year. Bringing in stars like Scherzer, Turner (additional year) and Duffy. Those additions would likely have made the Yankees a championship contender. The Yankees have passed on too many free agents the last half decade because of tax fears. Imagine them having Scherzer in Girardi’s last year or Harper the last few. In doing so Hal’s trophy case remains empty and George has made a few more revolutions in his grave. Sorry about the off topic rant.
That’s because they hired Dillon Lawson about a month ago to be their hitting coach. He’s been their minor league hitting coordinator since 2018 thus has a track record. You don’t hire a guy to fire him a month later. If so, good luck attracting any future coaching talent. I like the Chavez pickup but the Mets are making him their lead hitting coach which is indeed a promotion.
I don’t see what Cohen’s takeover of the Mets has to do with the Steinbrenners. Let’s allow the results to speak for themselves rather than fight for backpage headlines. I agree the Yankees have been prudent but I’d rather have a competitive team with a shot perenially. Playoffs are a crapshoot with the hottest team taking home the crown. If they sign every free agent, they’re going to end up in a few years with an old team resulting in long stretches of division bottom-dwelling (see Nationals). Keep in mind that the Steinbrenners only own about 60% of the team so they have other shareholders to answer to.