Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs have spent US$ 74.7 million on recent international signings.
The most money in signing bonus, 32.1 million, went to players from the Dominican Republic. MLB clubs spent 20.6 million on players from Venezuela, 15.6 million in Cuba, 2.1 million in the Bahamas and Colombia, 1.5 million in Panama, and 700,000 in Mexico.
The largest signing was Cuban outfielder Christian Vaquero, who agreed on a 4.9 million bonus with the Washington Nationals.
Dominican shortstop Roderick Arias received a 4 million bonus from the New York Yankees, while Venezuelan shortstop Diego Benitez agreed to terms with the Atlanta Braves on a 2.5 million bonus.
The San Francisco Giants signed shortstop Ryan Reckley (Bahamas) to a 2.1 million bonus. Panama's catcher Adan Sanchez agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs and received a 1.5 million signing bonus. Sanchez starred on the Panama National Team at the 2017 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, where he was selected onto the U-12 All-World Team.
The San Diego Padres signed shortstop Rosman Verdugo (Mexico) to a US$ 700,000 bonus. Verduga played in last year's WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.
The most expensive signing in Colombia was shortstop Michael Arroyo, who received a 1.3 million bonus from the Seattle Mariners.
MLB clubs also signed players in Nicaragua, Curaçao and Aruba.
The only players who signed outside the Americas are Korean outfielder Won-bin Cho, who agreed to terms with the St Louis Cardinals, and Spanish pitcher Peter Bonilla Hernandez.
Bonilla, a left hander, pitched and played first base for Spain at the U-18 European Championship 2021.
The bonuses paid in Nicaragua, Aruba, Curaçao, Korea, and Spain were not made official.
