And the budget’s been spent! The New York Yankees, after making massive splashes the last few years with Brando Mayea and Roderick Arias, had a limited international free agency budget heading into 2024.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t make the most of what they had. Their $4.652 million bonus pool netted them nine players, including headliner Francisco Vilorio, an outfielder out of the Dominican Republic who was ranked No. 15 overall in the class.
The 17-year-old, per MLB.com, projects to a “middle-of-the-order bat” as his power is his best quality. There’s also belief he’s athletic enough to play center field at the big-league level if he continues to develop as expected.
The Yankees can technically still trade for bonus pool money to add more players, but they probably would’ve done that already to poach top talent at the onset since that’s the biggest attraction. The Padres, Braves and Cubs landed this year’s top international prospects.
Yankees’ full class of 2024 international free agents revealed
New York added to its ever-improving pipeline with three outfielders, three catchers (?!), a third baseman and a pitcher, but none of the other prospects were ranked inside MLB.com’s Top 50.
Dexter Peralta, a shortstop out of DR, has been tabbed as a breakout candidate by Baseball America, which is something to keep an eye on because BA is at the forefront of all the international signing news/scouting/you name it.
Though the Yankees haven’t hit big on many international free agents, especially in recent years, their scouting has definitely improved with their farm system consistently rising through the ranks. Though we’re still waiting on the last few big-name additions to pan out, Arias and Mayea are ranked among the top 10 prospects in the organization.
We guess all that’s left to ask is … how many catchers does this team possibly need?
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