July 2 is a big day in Major League Baseball as it marks the beginning of the new International Signing Period. It’s often on the first day that many of the top international prospects choose which organization they want to play for.
One team that has historically been active on the international free agent market is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have signed top prospects like Yasiel Puig, Julio Urias, Yadier Alvarez and Yusniel Diaz in recent years.
The Dodgers are expected to fill out the organization’s depth once again this year, and they wasted no time getting to work. According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, they’ve already inked the top prospect in this year’s class, as well as a pitcher and infielder:
According to industry sources, the club agreed to a multi-million bonus with catcher Diego Cartaya of Venezuela, the top ranked prospect on MLB.com’s Top 30 International Prospects list. The Dodgers also agreed to deals with right-handed pitcher Jerming Rosario for $600,000 and infielder Alex De Jesus of the Dominican Republic for $500,000.
Cartaya, who won’t turn 17 until September, has been linked to the Dodgers for a while now as they were considered the favorites to sign him before the period started.
The Venezuela native will sign for around $2.5 million, and will join an organization that is filled with catching prospects, including the likes of Keibert Ruiz, Will Smith and Connor Wong.
Rosario is also 16-years-old, from the Dominican Republic, and was ranked the 30th-best prospect in this year’s class by MLB Pipeline. He has a fastball that is already approaching 90 mph.
De Jesus, another Dominican Republic product, adds infield depth to the Dodgers farm system that should continue to grow in the near future.
The Dodgers have $4,983,500, and can trade for more bonus slot money if they choose, to spend on this year’s class, so president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his scouting department will surely put that money to good use as they have in years past.
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