Just-in: Reds create waves by signing significant foreign players

On Monday the international signing period for 2024 began. The Cincinnati Reds had what could be an impactful week as they handed out 7-figure signing bonuses to two players. Outfielder Adolfo Sanchez got $2,700,000 to sign – the 6th highest bonus of all eligible players according to Baseball America. Shortstop Naibel Mariano got $1,650,000 as a signing bonus. That was the 11th highest bonus handed out to eligible players.

Unlike how things work in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico – this is not a draft. Players are free agents and can sign with any team that they want. But, like the draft, there is a cap on how much a team can spend. The Reds have a pool allotment of $6,520,000, but they could add up to 60% of that total via trades if they could work deals to do so (as far as I’m aware, no team has ever come close to adding that kind of total).

When looking at things in the long term, the Reds have been horrible when it comes to finding international players outside of Cuba. If we take away the Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias signings – and to be clear, while technically they were international signings, they were both older professionals than the typical amateur 16 or 17-year-old that signs in this market – since 1990 it’s been Johnny Cueto and a bunch of nothing. While Cueto was one heck of a land, the next most valuable player signed by the Reds in terms of WAR (provided to the Reds) as a teenager on the international market is a 2-way tie between Aristides Aquino and Jose Acevedo. They both produced 2.1 WAR (Fangraphs version) for Cincinnati in their career (Didi Gregorius had 12.5 WAR, but only 0.1 as a Red before he was traded). That’s less than what Andrew Abbott produced in 2023.

Looking at more recent history, though, the Reds fortune could be changing. Elly De La Cruz signed in 2018 and he just played last season as a 21-year-old and already had a 1.7 WAR season under his belt, and it wasn’t close to a full season. By the All-Star break he’s very likely to be the second most valuable teenager signed by the Reds on the international market since 1990.

While there aren’t any others beating down the door to the big leagues like De La Cruz was last season, the Reds signings over the previous three years have plenty of promise. In 2021 they didn’t have any 7-figure bonuses they gave out, but that class featured Carlos Jorge and Leo Balcazar who are both Top 11 prospects in the system now. In 2022 they signed one of the top players in the entire free agent class in Ricardo Cabrera. He’s rated as the clubs 8th best prospect after going out and hitting .346/.475/.531 last year. And then there was last year where they signed Alfredo Duno and Sheng-En Lin. The latter barely played because he signed later in the year. Duno, though, came out and hit .303/.451/.493 in his debut season.

All of these guys are still quite a ways from the big leagues, with Jorge spending a little more than a month in High-A last season as the player who has reached the highest level, but unlike so many past signings the club has made, these guys have come out of the gate and produced at high levels.

The club hopes to keep that trend going this year. None of the players signed this week will likely play until June when the season in complex ball begins in the Dominican Republic for the Dominican Summer League Reds. But let’s take a look at their top signings to see what they bring to the table.

Adolfo Sanchez

An outfielder who is 6′ 2″ and 170 lbs out of the Dominican Republic, Sanchez has a chance to be a 5-tool player. The best tool in his arsenal is his above-average hit tool. He projects to hit for a high average with an ability to hit the ball to all parts of the field. While he is more hit-over-power, he’s got average to perhaps plus raw power depending on who you talk to. The bat projects very well.

In the field he’s not going to wow you with his speed – he’s a slightly above-average runner when it comes to speed. But while his speed isn’t usually what you see in a center fielder, he gets great reads off of the bat and he runs precise routes that allow him to be a strong defender already at a young age. His arm strength is above-average, too.

Naibel Mariano

The shortstop checks in at 6′ 3″ and 182 lbs. Coming out of the Dominican Republic, Mariano also has the potential to be a 5-tool player in the future. At the plate he is the opposite of Sanchez. Mariano is more power over hit, with big power potential to tap into in the future. That’s not to suggest his hit-tool isn’t good, though. He projects to hit for a solid average, too.

In the field, despite his size, he’s got a chance to remain at shortstop. He has a plus arm which plays well at the position. Mariano also shows good footwork, he can move well, and he has good actions in the field. There’s a chance he could outgrow shortstop in the long run, but if he does need to move off of the position then his tools should work just fine at third base.

The rest of the signings

While those two guys were the headliners among the group, Cincinnati has already come to terms with 18 players in total. Six of those players are pitchers – all right-handed ones. Only one player is a catcher, another seven are infielders, and there are four outfielders. These won’t be the last signings by the club during the signing period (which goes until December 15th), but given the financial limits and how much they have already spent, this will likely be the bulk of the signings and unless they acquire pool money in trades, there won’t be any further large-dollar signings.

Here’s the list of the players that the Reds agreed to deals with:

Erlin Aguero – RHP – Dominican Republic

Jhan Almeida – RHP – Venezuela

Juan Brown – 3B – Aruba

Oniel Diaz – RHP – Dominican Republic

Manuel Marchan – RHP – Venezuela

Naibel Mariano – SS – Dominican Republic

Jaset Martinez – OF – Venezuela

Shendrion Martinus – SS – Curacao

Franyer Mendez – RHP – Venezuela

Jirvin Morillo – C – Venezuela

Pablo Nunez – OF – Venezuela

Peson Revierre – OF – Curacao

Riangelo Richardson – 2B – Aruba

Jose Sabino – SS – Venezuela

Adolfo Sanchez – OF – Dominican Republic

Stharlin Torres – RHP – Dominican Republic

Nayerich Waterfort – 2B – Curacao

Diorland Zambrando – SS – Venezuela

For scouting reports on everyone, head on over to RedsMinorLeagues.com where we’ve got you covered.