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BANÍ, Dominican Republic — In the lead-up to January 15, many teenage baseball prospects across the Dominican Republic spent sleepless nights contemplating their futures. These young athletes have dedicated their lives to the sport from a young age, hoping to emulate the success of legends like David Ortiz and Pedro Martínez, who have transformed their own lives and those of their families with lucrative MLB contracts. Most notably, they strive to secure a deal before reaching the age of 16, as opportunities begin to dwindle after that point. “When you say you’re 17, they don’t even look at you,” remarked Carlos Álvarez, once a player and now a trainer.
The future of some players seemed precarious due to the arrival of a highly-touted pitcher from Japan. Star prospect Roki Sasaki recently announced his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 17, just two days after the signing period for top international prospects commenced. This announcement coincided with the hopes of numerous Dominican players looking to finalize their contracts. Sasaki secured a minor league deal accompanied by a $6.5 million signing bonus, funds that could have otherwise benefitted aspiring Dominican athletes.
The Dominican Republic’s baseball infrastructure once again faced scrutiny as it grapples with concerns many consider aspects of a flawed system. Junior Noboa, the country’s baseball commissioner, expressed the significance of baseball for young players, stating that it represents an opportunity to alter their lives and their families’ futures entirely.
On a January afternoon, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met with President Luis Abinader in Santo Domingo to discuss these issues. Following their meeting, Manfred conveyed to the press that an international draft could be the key solution to mitigate the premature verbal agreements players often commit to as minors. “I draft you, you sign, you know you have an agreement,” he explained.
However, implementing such a draft appears years away. The current system resembles a form of free agency where scouts actively seek out talented players as young as 10 years old, hoping to entice them into lucrative contracts before they hit their 16th birthdays. The signing period for this year targeted players born between September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008.
With over 20% of the Dominican population living in poverty, some families subsist on less than $2 a day. The financial promise of a big league signing bonus — often amounting to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars — can uplift entire families from dire circumstances, producing immense pressure on teenagers who should be focusing on their education.
Concerns abound as some young players risk exploitation from loan sharks, face unstable verbal agreements, or succumb to the insidious practice of age falsification. Cases have surfaced where players have been pressured to fake their age by as many as seven or eight years. Notably, a player named Cesar Altagracia was cited last November for pretending to be 14 while actually being 19 to secure a deal with the San Diego Padres.
Noboa admitted that the pressure is overwhelming and drives many to inaccuracies regarding their ages. Scouts demand players exhibit skills and performance levels comparable to those of adults. Around 40,000 players qualify to sign annually in the Dominican Republic, yet only about 550 to 600 earn deals, as noted by local scout Eddy Lorenzo.
The pursuit of recognition weighs heavily on local youth, especially given the significant amount of impoverished players training at academies, many of whom drop out of school to chase a shot at the majors. “The earlier you develop a kid, the earlier he can enter the market, and the more money you can get,” Lorenzo explained. “This is a Third World country and a business.”
Recently, mobile phones across the Dominican Republic buzzed with notifications naming local players whom MLB suspects of age deception. While some trainers took note, many aspiring prospects slip through detection early in the process. Álvarez, who played for the Washington Nationals, adopted his cousin’s identity and shaved four years off his real age due to pressures from his coach.
“I really tried to make a go at it with my real age, but there was no chance,” Álvarez recalled, having signed for $1.4 million before the fear of exposure cast a shadow over his career. Now a trainer, he sees firsthand the unbearable pressure on young players who feel responsible for rescuing their families from poverty.
Former player Juan Emilio Pimentel shared his experience of deception, recounting how he took on the identity of a friend, even memorizing the family history to align with his new persona. “People who are poor are willing to do anything,” he stated, having played for the Dodgers on their minor league team before disappearing from the radar.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Carlos de la Rosa is all too aware of the stakes involved in securing a contract. Having started playing baseball with a makeshift ball at age nine, he aspires to follow his brother’s footsteps, who signed with the Kansas City Royals. De la Rosa expressed the burden of needing to perform at his best already.
Although older players can still sign contracts, they generally encounter smaller bonuses and increased scrutiny. Johan Quezada, a former pitcher now active in Mexico, shared that he faced extensive verification processes regarding his identity when signing at 18.
Noboa is advocating for measures to combat age fraud, working alongside governmental agencies to register baseball academies, yet many remain unregistered. While some coaches see the existing free-agent model as beneficial, the vibe within the country is changing, especially with efforts focused on drafting systems.
Historically, MLB teams had no spending limits for Latin American talent until 2017 when a cap was instituted. Thus, total spending decreased sharply following that adjustment. While attempts were made to implement an international draft in 2022, resistance from the players’ union thwarted those efforts, resulting in substantial changes remaining unlikely until at least 2028.
Lorenzo summarized the contradictions in the system, criticizing the hypocrisy of teams and trainers who lament current practices while continuing to scout younger players. “They say, ‘Don’t change what works,’” he said, encapsulating the complex dynamics of a sport rife with ambition and exploitation.
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