Pirates confident in 'diverse' international signing class

Unlike some year’s past, a 19 player international signing class is on the smaller side for the Pirates. 

However, that class brings the same high level of upside that the organization has targeted in player acquisitions these past three years.

“We feel pretty confident that this group of 19 players we brought in this past weekend represents a really diverse group in a lot of ways,” assistant general manager Steve Sanders said over Zoom Wednesday. “Diverse in being from all over the globe, I think spanning six countries. Diverse in a pretty impactful mix of position players and pitchers. Different skill sets. Different ages. Guys at different parts of their developmental progression. I think we feel really good about that.”

The Pirates announced their 19 international free agent signings Monday, with the two highest profile being outfielder Tony Blanco Jr. and shortstop Yordany De Los Santos. Both 16, De Los Santos signed for a $1.2 million bonus and Blanco for $900,000.

Those signings account for a little more than a third of the Pirates’ $6.262 million bonus pool.

The duo were ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 11 and 12 prospects in this year’s international class. No other team can claim they signed two of the top 20 prospects this year.

While talking about the class, general manager Ben Cherington and Sanders credited director of international scouting Junior Vizcaino and his team for establishing relationships with these players in order to convince them to sign.

The Pirates also have another negotiating tool in a revamped and upgraded Dominican Academy. 

“We have an excellent top-of-the-industry facility in the DR,” Cherington said. “I was able to see it firsthand not too long ago. I truly believe that we're in as good a shape there as anything in baseball, in terms of the the place that we're bringing young teenage international players in to train. That's bound to help us as we talk to players about being a Pirate, they can envision that and see the place that they'd be living and training. We believe it helps, but it's just as important for training — and I would argue more important — as it is for improvement.”

De Los Santos was praised by Vizcaino for his athleticism in the field, his bat and his makeup, believing he can be a leader on the diamond and in the clubhouse. Blanco is listed at 6’5”, 230 lbs. And has 40-home run potential, according to MLB Pipeline.

Blanco was originally supposed to sign with the Rays, but the Pirates were able to recruit him to sign a few weeks before the signing period began. Sanders declined to give any details about how the Pirates convinced Blanco to change his mind, but praised the international team’s process that made it happen.

“I think Blanco represents the importance of being agile and prepared for anything and everything that can happen, especially in this market,” Sander said. “Up until these guys are eligible to sign, our scouts are out there doing the work. It goes back to the importance of knowing the players and building relationships that take years and years to build. In this case, our entire group in the DR put us in position for the opportunity to sign Blanco when it presented itself.”

The next two largest signing bonuses went to right-handers Pitterson Rosa ($700,000) and Huang-Leng Chang ($500,000).

The Pirates had followed Chang, 20, since 2019, and despite being older than many of the international prospects across the league this year, they were drawn to his good body movement, high spin and competitiveness.

He’s the second high-ticket pitcher the Pirates have signed out of Taiwan in the last three years, the other being Po-Yu Chen in 2020, who signed for $1.25 million.

To Cherington, that is a sign that all of the scouting teams are finding players, not just the scouts in Latin America and the Dominican Republic.

“In order to have a chance to do the right job, whether it's Chang, Ji-Hwan Bae or any player from Central America, South America, Caribbean, you name it … we need to have the internal infrastructure to support that player’s transition into pro ball, the onboarding, certainly their early part of the coaching process and development process,” Cherington said. “We are equally excited about that. We’re not just going out and finding these players, but we are building a team of people with the Pirates that can really support that transition and onboarding into the Pirates.”

While most of the signings are set to go to the Pirates’ Dominican academy, there is a possibility that Chang’s first stop will be in Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. For those going to the academy, it will be some time – usually a year or two – before they make the jump stateside.

Those 19 players could be joined by more fresh faces as the signing period continues. While the Pirates have already spent the majority of the money, they do have some remaining to potentially add down the road.

“Looking forward to being able to add to this class, and whether that's with players that we find are passed over and currently eligible to sign or with some players who will become eligible at later points in the signing period,” Sanders said.