The Red Sox will make commitments with international free-agents
The international signing period for 2020-21 was initially going to take place at the beginning of July. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, that was inevitably postponed and pushed back six months. The period is officially set to open tomorrow morning at 9 AM ET and close on Dec. 15 at 5 PM ET. Considering the signing period was postponed just weeks before the initial July 2 opening, teams had already had preemptive discussions with international free agents and expected to sign them on time. With $5,348,100 in bonus pool money, the Boston Red Sox are expected to finally put the pen to paper tomorrow and sign numerous players to their long-awaited deals.
Among those players includes MLB Pipeline‘s No. 21 overall international free-agent Miguel Bleis out of the Dominican Republic.
One of the biggest and strongest prospects on the international market this year is Miguel Bleis, a 16-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic. A favorite to be signed by the #RedSox, he comes in at No. 19 on our 2020 International Prospects list: https://t.co/N8rlkCiRB5 pic.twitter.com/qrHms90YpZ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 2, 2020
The 16-year-old Bleis is well regarded both offensively and defensively. On a 20-80 scale, the young outfielder received a 50 for hitting and a 55 for fielding. His grades as a hitter and fielder are considered average to above average, with expectations that his offensive numbers will go up with his age.
The outfielder is reportedly expected to receive a bonus between $1.5 million to $2 million. For what it’s worth, this is the highest sum of money Boston has forked over in recent memory. The team did not give any player a bonus of over $1 million during the 2019-20 international signing period. This is the highest signing bonus the team is projected to give to any of their international signings tomorrow.
Along with Bleis, Sox Prospects has seven additional players that are projected to sign with the team in the coming days.
15-year-old catcher Enderso Lira is a solid backstop with expectations that he will be able to pan out behind the dish. The Venezuelan product is well regarded on the offense end having the ability to drive the ball into the gaps. He is projected to receive $900,000 in signing with the Red Sox.
The third international free-agent with any projected signing bonus is shortstop Luis Ravelo, another product of the Dominican Republic. The middle infielder has been highly praised for his slick defense. He has the ability to grow defensively as well, and at just 17-years-old, the Red Sox organization is hoping he can continue to pair his defense along with his hitting. Offensively, the 17-year-old is well-regarded for his bat speed, and ability to barrel the ball. He is expected to receive a $500,000 signing bonus when the signing period opens tomorrow morning.
Five other players are expected to sign tomorrow, all of them with varying potential. According to Baseball America’s Ben Badler, “two of the more prominent arms” in left-hander Peyton Nunez of the Dominican Republic and right-hander Alvaro Mejias of Venezuela are projected to sign with the Red Sox. The other three include two additional shortstops in Josue Castillo (Dominican Republic), Yevganni Reinita (Curacao), and Karim Ayubi (Curacao.)
After a long six month hiatus from signing the eight aforementioned players, Boston will likely be eager to ink all of these players in a timely manner to get them on schedule for conditioning and eventual playing time down in the minor leagues.