Dodgers sign 46 prospects during 2018-19 international signing period

Diego Cartaya

The 2018-19 international signing period came to an end on Saturday, and the Dodgers ended up with a pretty substantial haul, including one of the top prospects in the class.

Here’s the full list of 46 players (that I could find, at least).

Player Position Age Country Bonus
Diego Cartaya C 16 Venezuela $2,500,000
Osvanni Gutierrez RHP 17 Cuba $600,000
Jerming Rosario RHP 16 Dominican Rep. $600,000
Alex De Jesus 3B 16 Dominican Rep. $500,000
Jorge Gonzalez RHP 16 Dominican Rep. $390,000
Hyun-Il Choi RHP 19 South Korea $300,000
Joel Ibarra SS 16 Mexico $300,000
Huei-Sheng Lin RHP 20 Taiwan $300,000
Hao-Chun Cheng RHP 21 Taiwan $200,000
Jose Ramos OF 18 Panama $30,000
Eli Moron RHP 17 Colombia unknown
Raidel Chacon RHP 24 Cuba unknown
Marlon Cairo OF 23 Cuba unknown
Heisell Baro RHP 17 Cuba unknown
Denverick Martines OF 18 Curacao unknown
Igor Avila LHP 22 Dominican Rep. unknown
Horacio Andujar RHP 20 Dominican Rep. unknown
Cristian Peralta LHP 19 Dominican Rep. unknown
Juan De La Cruz RHP 18 Dominican Rep. unknown
Francisco Feliz IF 18 Dominican Rep. unknown
Jose Mendez LHP 18 Dominican Rep. unknown
Luis Morales OF 18 Dominican Rep. unknown
Samuel Ruben RHP 18 Dominican Rep. unknown
Frankelyn Feliz RHP 17 Dominican Rep. unknown
Bladimir De La Rosa SS 17 Dominican Rep. unknown
Juan Diaz OF 17 Dominican Rep. unknown
Frank Rodriguez C 17 Dominican Rep. unknown
Christian Hidalgo OF 17 Dominican Rep. unknown
Yujo Kitagata RHP 25 Japan unknown*
Hendrick Briones RHP 17 Mexico unknown
Nelson Quiroz C 17 Mexico unknown
Jose Igancio Rodriguez RHP 17 Mexico unknown
Miguel Jarrett RHP 19 Panama unknown
Jose Aguilar OF 18 Venezuela unknown
Christian Suarez LHP 18 Venezuela unknown
Jose Garcia C 17 Venezuela unknown
Jefferson Valladares C 17 Venezuela unknown
Darwin Arainamo OF 16 Venezuela unknown
Ender Avendano SS 16 Venezuela unknown
Miguel Droz SS 16 Venezuela unknown
Edgardo Henriquez RHP 16 Venezuela unknown
Isaac Rodriguez LHP 16 Venezuela unknown
Luis Izturis SS 16 Venezuela unknown
Gregory Pereira OF 16 Venezuela unknown
Jeremi Rodriguez RHP 16 Venezuela unknown
Rafael Tua RHP 16 Venezuela unknown
Total       $5,770,000
International pool       $4,983,500
Difference       ($786,500)

*Bonus amount doesn’t count because he doesn’t fall under the international signing rules.

The Dodgers are more than three-quarters of a million dollars in the red, but I’m sure that’s either a math error on my end, a misreporting of bonus amounts and/or the Dodgers acquired enough international slot money to make up for the difference. I’m guessing it’s the third option, because they acquired money from the Reds when they reacquired Dylan Floro last July.

——

Since the international signing rules are a bit more complicated than even the MLB Draft rules, here’s a refresher.

Rules

The international signing period, known as the July 2 period, is the time when teams can sign international prospects not subject to the MLB Draft. There used to be looser signing rules, but the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has put an end to a team going over its bonus pool, as the Dodgers did two years ago.

Since the Dodgers were a luxury tax team, they were allotted $4,983,500 to sign players from July 2, 2018 through June 15. Of the reported bonuses I could find, the Dodgers spent just north of $5 million in that time. Any prospect signed for $10,000 or less does not count toward the bonus pool. The age cutoff for players whose bonuses count toward the pool is 25 years old. Any player 25 or older doesn’t have his signing bonus count toward the pool. The full rules area available here.

——

The next international signing class begins on July 2. They’ve been linked to Venezuelan outfielder Luis Rodriguez, one of the best all-around players available during the 2019-20 signing period. We’ll see who else they land.

About Dustin Nosler

Avatar photo
Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.