Not to be a pest but what the players height and weight. Also is it too much to ask for a thumbnail scouting report on the player's just signed? One can not get to excited if all their is is a player's name.
Age, bonus, position and country are all listed above as well. Reports will come out. Pirates have had signing ceremonies in three different countries over the last three days. Give it some time and the info will be available.
I hope some of these signees pan out. Unfortunately, with the terrible track record the Bucs have in this area combined with the lottery chances of such signees from any team making a big impact on the MLB roster, maybe the money would have been better spent enticing LA or SD to give us a bat so they can sign their next big superstar. "Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
Yes. Even if one of these players develops into a star, Sasaki is already big league ready and an elite talent on the planet, not just in Japan. You would need two star players for this class to look better than Sasaki, and that still wouldn't start to happen until at least four years down the line if it somehow did. International signing classes produce very little MLB star talent each year, while getting spread among 30 teams.
Blown away with the $400,000 to Armstrong Muhoozi from Uganda. Read a little about him but that level of bonus indicates this is a keeper with a lot of natural ability who will benefit quickly from regular play in the US. Has he played a lot in International Competitions?
Just posted on today’s morning update thread: the Athletic had a reporter go all the way to Uganda to report on this guy and the signing. The signing bonus is $45,000.
I forgot to mention this tidbit. I got some brief info on the players who signed. I really like the sound of Edgar Walker. I'm told he hits for power and doesn't swing and miss. That last part is literal, as in someone who watched him over a series of days didn't see a single swing-and-miss. Possible hidden gem there. He's 6'0", 180 lbs. 17 years old, but still first time eligible to sign
BTW, if you look at lists on transaction pages, Hanley Ramirez doesn't show up as signed. I asked if it was okay to announce him first and was told yes (technically it was the entire list I asked about). He might be a player awaiting approval while MLB does checks for age/drug testing. Or he just hasn't been added to the database yet.
I should mention that many Venezuelan players already live out of the country before signing for that very reason. The Pirates have in the past kept Venezuelan players at Pirate City and their Dominican facility year round as well
You may have seen a player named Carlos Lorenzo signed, a right-handed pitcher from the Dominican. He was signed months ago and he's part of the 2024 signing class.
I'm sure some of you saw who the other two players are, but I can guarantee you that neither one of them signed today. As I mentioned this morning "Some of the signings might not be completed today". The two remaining players are scheduled to have a signing ceremony in their home country coming up soon with Pirates officials who were busy today in the Dominican.
If you noticed the rather specific bonus total for Morel, you might be able to figure that out by adding up the known bonus totals (JDLS is either $2.25M or $2.4M, not sure if the press figured that out) and checking out the pool available. Same exact thing happened when Solomon Maguire signed for an odd amount.
They did not sign, trust me. I went through this almost every year with non-Dominican signings. You will see photos of them signing within the next few days. Teams are able to "claim" signings for a short time for players they intend to sign. That is what you are seeing. I learned about that when Ji-Hwan Bae showed up in the MLB database three days before he actually signed.
Not to be a pest but what the players height and weight. Also is it too much to ask for a thumbnail scouting report on the player's just signed? One can not get to excited if all their is is a player's name.
Age, bonus, position and country are all listed above as well. Reports will come out. Pirates have had signing ceremonies in three different countries over the last three days. Give it some time and the info will be available.
We are adding as we get information. That kinda stuff isn’t always steadily available, especially the scouting reports
I hope some of these signees pan out. Unfortunately, with the terrible track record the Bucs have in this area combined with the lottery chances of such signees from any team making a big impact on the MLB roster, maybe the money would have been better spent enticing LA or SD to give us a bat so they can sign their next big superstar. "Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
Hypothetical question for you John: Would you trade the entire Pirates international signing class of 2025 for Roki Sasaki?
Yes. Even if one of these players develops into a star, Sasaki is already big league ready and an elite talent on the planet, not just in Japan. You would need two star players for this class to look better than Sasaki, and that still wouldn't start to happen until at least four years down the line if it somehow did. International signing classes produce very little MLB star talent each year, while getting spread among 30 teams.
I’m not John, but I think the obvious answer is yes.
Blown away with the $400,000 to Armstrong Muhoozi from Uganda. Read a little about him but that level of bonus indicates this is a keeper with a lot of natural ability who will benefit quickly from regular play in the US. Has he played a lot in International Competitions?
I've seen it at $40,000 as well. One might just be a typo.
Just posted on today’s morning update thread: the Athletic had a reporter go all the way to Uganda to report on this guy and the signing. The signing bonus is $45,000.
Pitcher from Australia?
I forgot to mention this tidbit. I got some brief info on the players who signed. I really like the sound of Edgar Walker. I'm told he hits for power and doesn't swing and miss. That last part is literal, as in someone who watched him over a series of days didn't see a single swing-and-miss. Possible hidden gem there. He's 6'0", 180 lbs. 17 years old, but still first time eligible to sign
Minimizing swing and miss is a solid base to work from - AND HE HITS FOR POWER?
BTW, if you look at lists on transaction pages, Hanley Ramirez doesn't show up as signed. I asked if it was okay to announce him first and was told yes (technically it was the entire list I asked about). He might be a player awaiting approval while MLB does checks for age/drug testing. Or he just hasn't been added to the database yet.
Just got confirmation that he signed today so not sure why he isn't showing up
Venezuelan are now posting their signing bonuses?
No, but some people don't care and post them anyway. They are asked not to for the safety of the player
Geez . . . .
I should mention that many Venezuelan players already live out of the country before signing for that very reason. The Pirates have in the past kept Venezuelan players at Pirate City and their Dominican facility year round as well
That’s good, but their families are still there.
Excellent point! Terrible situation
I hope Hanley Ramirez v2 is as good as the original.
And I’m rooting for Hamlet Santos to make it!
Alas, poor Yorick, I have my doubts.
You may have seen a player named Carlos Lorenzo signed, a right-handed pitcher from the Dominican. He was signed months ago and he's part of the 2024 signing class.
I'm sure some of you saw who the other two players are, but I can guarantee you that neither one of them signed today. As I mentioned this morning "Some of the signings might not be completed today". The two remaining players are scheduled to have a signing ceremony in their home country coming up soon with Pirates officials who were busy today in the Dominican.
If you noticed the rather specific bonus total for Morel, you might be able to figure that out by adding up the known bonus totals (JDLS is either $2.25M or $2.4M, not sure if the press figured that out) and checking out the pool available. Same exact thing happened when Solomon Maguire signed for an odd amount.
They both are listed on the transaction page as signing.
They did not sign, trust me. I went through this almost every year with non-Dominican signings. You will see photos of them signing within the next few days. Teams are able to "claim" signings for a short time for players they intend to sign. That is what you are seeing. I learned about that when Ji-Hwan Bae showed up in the MLB database three days before he actually signed.
I trust you, just saw it on the transaction page, the pirates site even has Smith's amount ($400,000) on the article on international signings.
https://www.mlb.com/news/pirates-sign-2025-international-prospect-johan-de-los-santos?partnerID=web_article-share
who are the 2 players? i'm out of the loop.
Other side of the globe.