Sox Sign Four International Players

In the middle of a pennant race, the Red Sox are going about their business replenishing their farm system. On Thursday the Sox confirmed today that they signed 16-year old Dominican third baseman/shortstop Rafael Devers and three other international players.

Apr 16, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; A Red Sox cap, a glove and a baseball sit in the dugout prior to a game against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Boston won 7-2. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Boston also signed left-handed pitchers Emmanuel DeJesus, 16, and Jhonathan Diaz, 16, out of Venezuela as well as center fielder Yoan Aybar from the Dominican Republic.

International scouts project Devers as a middle-of-the-order, run-producing bat with power. Devers has good hands and improving range, which could allow him to stay at third. Devers was ranked as the third-best prospect in this year’s international class by Ben Badler of Baseball America.

Badler told WEEI.com’s Scott McLaughlin, “He’s definitely one of the top bats on the market. [He has] a really nice swing. … It’s really short, really compact to the ball, he stays inside the ball and he’s got really good bat speed. … There are guys with bigger power on the market. It’s average power right now, average raw power, but you can see the potential for him to have above-average raw power down the road.”

The 6-foot-1, 215 pound prospect signed a contract that included a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

Baseball America’s updated Top 30 board of confirmed signings is available here.