Pirates now favorite to sign amateur International prospect
Pirates favorites to sign outfield prospect
Article by John Dreker
The Pittsburgh Pirates are the favorites to sign outfielder Limanol Payero Perez, who trains at the Ruben Urena Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic. The academy has touted Perez as a future Major League player in numerous social media posts. Perez has been linked to the New York Mets for quite some time as one of their more interesting signings, but I (John Dreker) was able to confirm that the Pirates are now the front runners to sign him when the new international signing period opens up on January 15, 2025.
The Pirates had a shakeup on the international side recently, when they let go on Junior Vizcaino as their Director of International Scouting. He was replaced in the role recently by Max Kwan, who returned to the organization after a year away from the team. Kwan has been instrumental in the Pirates signing many higher ranked players from Asia and Australia over the recent years. Prior to that he worked heavily in the Latin American signings. While many signings are in place early, this will be the first international signing class run by Kwan.
While the reports on Perez are few and far between, videos show a tall/lanky player with plenty of room to grow and add power as he gets older.
Does this mean they’re out on Sasaki?
Do we know where this player ranks among those eligible for this signing period? Clearly this was described as good news but given the signing pools and Pirates share, I am hoping they can get a top 4 or 5 player even though they are miles and obstacles from ever contributing.