Bayron Lora

One of the biggest names of the 2019-20 international signing class has officially put pen to paper, as 16-year-old Bayron Lora has signed with the Rangers.  (Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report the news.)  The contract will be finalized when Lora, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic, passes a physical.

This isn’t a new signing, as word broke back on July 2 that Lora agreed to a deal with Texas.  At the time, however, Lora was reportedly going to receive a $4.2MM bonus, and his final number ended up being a bit less, as Lora will now receive $3.9MM.  The Rangers entered the July 2 signing period with a total bonus pool of $5,398,300 to spend, and immediately blew by that number on just three prospects.  Besides Lara, Texas also signed young shortstops Maximo Acosta ($1.6MM) and Zion Banister ($835K) to hefty bonuses.

Some more cash was needed to finalize these signings, which was the inspiration for the Rangers’ acquisition of Nate Jones from the White Sox at the trade deadline.  Texas sent two minor leaguers to Chicago in exchange for Jones, some cash considerations to help address Jones’ contract, and $1MM in international pool money, making it one of the largest trades involving int’l pool funds since the new July 2 rules were established in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Even that extra $1MM didn’t quite cover the initial three outlays, which is likely why Lora’s bonus ended up being $300K less than expected.  The $3.9MM figure is still one of the largest bonuses of this year’s international class, befitting Lora’s prospect status.  Lora was ranked third amongst all July 2 prospects by MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez and fifth by Fangraphs, with both sites touting the youngster’s power potential.  At age 16, Lora is already 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, with what Sanchez described as “excellent bat speed.”