NEW YORK — Elian Peña, a 17-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, struck a deal with the New York Mets on Wednesday, receiving a record bonus of $5 million on the inaugural day of the 2025 international signing period. This marks the largest signing bonus announced so far for this cycle.
Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in this year’s international class by MLB.com, Peña trails only Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who must finalize a contract by January 23, and Dominican shortstop Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, who secured a deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $2,997,500.
Several teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays, were vying for Sasaki, but none managed to reach agreements that exceeded $10,000 and as such did not count against their bonus allotments. In fact, only 15 of the 30 major league teams completed agreements topping $10,000 during the opening hours of the signing period.
Rob Metzler, assistant general manager for the Detroit Tigers, expressed that the uncertainty surrounding this signing period has been pronounced compared to previous years. “This situation certainly has led to confusion for teams and players alike,” he remarked.
Additionally, Dominican outfielder Cris Rodriguez secured a contract with Detroit valued at $3,197,500, while Andrew Salas, who is both a shortstop and outfielder, inked a deal worth $3.7 million with Miami. Salas was originally born in the U.S. before relocating to Venezuela.
In a unique move, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii, aspiring to be a two-way player akin to Shohei Ohtani, opted to forgo Japanese professional baseball altogether and signed with the Oakland Athletics for $1,510,500.
Other notable signings include Dominican infielder Johan De Los Santos with Pittsburgh for $2.25 million, Venezuelan catcher Gabriel Davalillo with the Los Angeles Angels at $2 million, and Venezuelan infielder Brayan Cortesia with Washington for $1.92 million. Additionally, a series of agreements were made involving Dominican and Venezuelan players, with many netting contracts worth over $1 million.
This year’s signing period extends from the current date until December 15, with players born between September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008, eligible to sign. Teams operate with signing bonus pools that range from approximately $5.1 million to $7.6 million.
Pittsburgh also secured a deal with Australian right-hander Robinson Smith for $400,000 and with Italian right-hander Filippo Sabatini for $80,000. Ugandan infielder Armstrong Muhoozi agreed to join Pittsburgh for $40,000.
