Baseball\u2019s international signing period for 2023 opens Sunday, which means this would be a good time to see which clubs have most effectively tapped into this critical talent pipeline. We asked The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> baseball writers to name each team\u2019s best international free agent signing of the last decade. The answers reveal which teams have done well, perhaps a reflection of an investment in scouting (or even a willingness to lavish sizable deals on players who had already established themselves as stars overseas). The answers also reveal which franchises have some work to do.<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s international efforts have ramped up under the current regime, but it takes years for that to bear fruit. As such, the organization\u2019s best international signing of the last 10 years can be credited to the Dave Stewart administration, which inked shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm for $200,000 out of the Bahamas in 2015. Chisholm\u2019s major-league career has just begun, although he\u2019s already earned an All-Star nod at second base. Yes, it was with the Marlins, but trading Chisholm in 2019 allowed current general manager Mike Hazen to acquire ace Zac Gallen, who has been and should continue to be a perennial Cy Young Award candidate for years to come. \u2014 Zach Buchanan<\/em><\/p>\n Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. wasn\u2019t ranked among the top 30 international prospects in the 2014 class when the Braves signed the young Venezuelan for $100,000, which was twice as much as the next-largest bonus he was offered, from the Royals. Four years later, a 20-year-old Acu\u00f1a was a near-unanimous choice for NL Rookie of the Year over Juan Soto, and now he\u2019s a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner who\u2019s regarded as one of the top young players in baseball. A torn ACL in July 2021 is the only thing that\u2019s managed thus far to stall his otherwise steady ascent. \u2014 David O\u2019Brien<\/em><\/p>\n The Orioles ignored the international market for more than a decade under owner Peter Angelos. That philosophy changed in 2018, when his sons took over and hired general manager Mike Elias and international director Koby Perez. The organization is setting signing-bonus records annually now, but most of their acquisitions are at the low levels of the minors. The exception is infielder C\u00e9sar Prieto, a 23-year-old Cuban defector who signed last year for $650,000. Prieto tore through High A (.340\/.381\/.619) in 25 games and spent the rest of 2022 at Double A, where he slashed .255\/.296\/.348. He\u2019ll likely start the year at Double A, but should push toward Norfolk once there\u2019s an opening at second, shortstop or third base. \u2014 Dan Connolly<\/em><\/p>\n Rafael Devers signed for $1.5 million as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in August 2013 and debuted when he was just 20 years old in late 2017. He\u2019s been the team\u2019s Opening Day third baseman every year since. In his five and a half seasons, he\u2019s etched himself into Red Sox record books in several categories and since the beginning of 2019, Devers leads the majors in doubles (149) and extra-base hits (264) and leads the AL in hits (591) and total bases (1,078). Earlier this month, the Red Sox reached an agreement on an 11-year, $331 million deal with Devers, the largest contract in team history. \u2014 Jen McCaffrey<\/em><\/p>\n The debate is probably between Eloy Jim\u00e9nez and Gleyber Torres, neither of whom has taken a single big-league at-bat with the Cubs. Both were traded at the height of the Cubs\u2019 most recent string of success and both have been generally strong performers when healthy. But it\u2019s Jim\u00e9nez\u2019s power bat and potential to slug among the best in baseball that sets him apart in this writer\u2019s eyes. The trade that sent him to the White Sox along with Dylan Cease and brought Jos\u00e9 Quintana to the Cubs will be one baseball fans in Chicago will bring up for years. Maybe a 2023 breakout from Cristian Hern\u00e1ndez will slightly ease Cubs fans\u2019 pain. \u2014 Sahadev Sharma<\/em><\/p>\n This sure has the potential to be awkward. Recent tumult aside, Fernando Tatis Jr. has more than a puncher\u2019s chance to accumulate the most career WAR of any international player signed by the Sox during the past 10 years, and he\u2019s accumulating it all in San Diego after being dealt for the last gasps of James Shields in 2016. Luis Robert has the tools to maybe match him long-term, but similar issues staying healthy and less realized production. Since the Sox immediately knew what they had in Robert and made him a franchise centerpiece, maybe he is the best signing. Or we could make this simple. Jos\u00e9 Abreu was signed in late October 2013 at age 26, giving us the benefit of looking at the bulk of his MLB career in hindsight. Two RBI titles, five 30-homer seasons, three All-Star teams, three Silver Sluggers and an MVP award. That\u2019ll do. The only awkward part there is that he plays for the defending champion Astros now. \u2014 James Fegan<\/em><\/p>\n It may be odd to say a player who has fewer than 50 games above A ball is the best signing of the last 10 years, but Elly De La Cruz\u2019s ascension to the top of prospect lists after signing for $65,000 in 2018 shows just how much promise there is in the 21-year-old switch-hitting shortstop. \u2014 C. Trent Rosecrans<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s actually astounding how little Cleveland\u2019s franchise has benefitted from its international signings, especially considering they\u2019ve contended for much of the last decade. Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez, obviously, was a home-run pickup, but he signed in 2009, out of range for this prompt. The only international player who signed with the organization within the last 10 years and has totaled at least 0.5 fWAR with Cleveland: Oscar Gonzalez. It seems as though strides have been made on the international front in recent years, with George Valera, Brayan Rocchio and Angel Martinez among the club\u2019s top prospects. Yandy Di\u00e1z logged 0.4 fWAR with Cleveland before the team jettisoned him to Tampa \u2014 where he has blossomed \u2014 in a deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland (oh, and Jake Bauers, too). \u2014 Zack Meisel<\/em><\/p>\n The Rockies don\u2019t tend to be major players in the international market, choosing instead to pick around the edges looking for lottery tickets. Big bonus spending on teenaged free agents is not their style, not until last year at least. And once in a while, they find an undervalued player who makes it. Righthander Antonio Senzatela, then 16, was a nice get out of Venezuela in 2011 for a $250,000 bonus. Within the last decade, they signed shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, also 16 and from Venezuela, for $800,000 in 2018. He became one of their top prospects and debuted late last season. The verdict on his major league career will wait, but Tovar is set to become Colorado\u2019s No. 1 shortstop. \u2014 Nick Groke<\/em><\/p>\n The Tigers\u2019 past decade on the international market has been unbelievably dry. Gregory Soto (recently traded to the Phillies) was their only productive big leaguer in a generation of international prospects. Their last true international win was Willy Adames, who signed in 2012. He was traded to the Rays in 2014 and has gone on to post 15.5 bWAR in the majors. \u2014 Cody Stavenhagen<\/em><\/p>\n The Astros have had significant success in the international market in recent years. It is a big reason why the organization has been able to lose players like Gerrit Cole and George Springer in free agency and not miss a beat. Cristian Javier, Yur\u00ed Gurriel, Luis Garc\u00eda and Jos\u00e9 Urquidy were all signed as amateur free agents within the past 10 years. But the best of the bunch is Framber Valdez, who overcame countless rejections to finally land a pro contract with the Astros in 2015 and has quickly become one of the elite left-handed starters in baseball. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/em><\/p>\n The Royals won the World Series in 2015 with Salvador Perez, Yordano Ventura and Kelvin Herrera playing major roles, but the club hasn\u2019t turned an international signing into a regular player in more than a decade. The oft-injured Adalberto Mondesi, for instance, was signed in 2011. The best signing is probably Dominican infielder turned outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who was signed in 2015. Ruiz was traded to the Padres in 2017 and was on the move a lot in the last year, eventually ending up in Oakland. One other name to watch: 22-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Maikel Garc\u00eda. \u2014 Rustin Dodd<\/em><\/p>\n This is an easy one for the Angels. Roberto Baldoquin has to be the choice. I kid, and apologize for that, Angels fans. The real answer is Shohei Ohtani. The Angels haven\u2019t had much success in developing international free agents. But Ohtani is clearly the outlier. The modern-day Babe Ruth. One of the most unique and talented players of his time, or all time. There\u2019s no one close to him on the list of Angels signings to choose from. Ohtani has also come at a relative bargain, with 2023 his first significant payday. The question is how long he\u2019ll stay in Anaheim. \u2014 Sam Blum<\/em><\/p>\n Julio Ur\u00edas missed this cutoff, having been signed in 2012. That leaves the Dodgers\u2019 most notable international signing of the last decade as a reminder of one of their few major whiffs on the trade front in that period as well. Yordan Alvarez never played a game in the organization before being dealt to Houston for reliever Josh Fields, but has since emerged as one of the most fearsome hitters in the sport. He\u2019s already accumulated 13.6 bWAR in four seasons despite largely serving as a designated hitter and missing nearly all of 2020, punctuating things with a top-3 finish for MVP last year and a titanic blast to help the Astros clinch a World Series win. It\u2019s been a productive signing, even though the Dodgers surely wish that production came in their uniform. \u2014 Fabian Ardaya<\/em><\/p>\n The Marlins have a sizable heap of promising international prospects that would fit in this category. The jury is still out on them, but given the strides made in 2022 it feels appropriate to spotlight Eury P\u00e9rez here. The lanky fireballer towers over everyone who steps into the box against him. His 6-foot-9 frame makes it hard for even the likes of Reds star prospect Elly De La Cruz to get a good read on anything coming out of P\u00e9rez\u2019s hand. He\u2019s far from a one-trick pony, though. He couples his hard heater with three plus or better pitches. He\u2019s also so poised that at 19 years old last season he outdid Double-A Southern League competitors who were on average five years older than him. \u2014 Maria Torres<\/em><\/p>\n The answer here shows how unsuccessful many of the recent international signing classes have been for the Brewers and it also highlights just how good the player can be. It\u2019s Jackson Chourio. The Brewers signed Chourio as a 16-year-old shortstop\/center fielder from Venezuela in 2021. Already, he has skyrocketed atop Milwaukee\u2019s prospect rankings. He has a shot to claim the top spot among prospects in baseball. In his age-18 season last year, Chourio slashed .288\/.342\/.538 with 20 home runs and 16 stolen bases. He split time mostly between the Class A levels, but he also appeared in six games for Double-A Biloxi. \u2014 Will Sammon<\/em><\/p>\n Luis Arraez was far from a top prospect when he signed with the Twins for just $40,000 as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela in 2013. He was 5-foot-nothing, with zero power and mediocre speed, and it wasn\u2019t clear where he\u2019d fit best defensively. Turns out, it didn\u2019t really matter, as Arraez\u2019s exceptional bat control and plate discipline got him to the big leagues in 2019. He\u2019s a career .314 hitter in 389 major-league games after hitting .331 in the minors, and now he\u2019s a 25-year-old All-Star and batting champion. \u2014 Aaron Gleeman<\/em><\/p>\n The Mets signed Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez for $1.2 million as part of their 2015 international signing class. In 2020, Gim\u00e9nez, a gifted infielder from Venezuela, finished seventh for NL Rookie of the Year. In January 2021, the Mets included Gim\u00e9nez in their trade package for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. With the Guardians last season, Gim\u00e9nez posted a terrific season: In 557 plate appearances, he had 17 home runs and a .837 OPS with 20 stolen bases and a 6.1 fWAR. For those curious, Amed Rosario, who was also part of that trade with Cleveland, signed during the cycle before the cutoff period for this exercise. \u2014 Will Sammon<\/em><\/p>\n New York signed the shortstop prospect out of Venezuela in 2016, and he\u2019s quickly turned into one of the Yankees\u2019 best overall prospects. Oswald Peraza was briefly called up at the end of this season and flashed enough at the plate and in the field to make those around the team believe he\u2019s ready to have an opportunity to be the Yankees\u2019 starting shortstop by opening day. An honorable mention should go to fellow Venezuelan Oswaldo Cabrera. The Yankees signed Cabrera when he was 16 years old for $100,000. Now the 23-year-old might become the team\u2019s starting left fielder this season. \u2014 Chris Kirschner<\/em><\/p>\n Twenty-five years ago, the A\u2019s had a strong pipeline of talent flowing from their international scouting efforts, which produced All-Stars like Miguel Tejada, Ramon Hern\u00e1ndez, Angel Berroa and Santiago Casilla. Since then, the pipeline has run dry, first from lack of funds, and more recently from development not going as planned. Despite giving out large six-figure bonuses to players such as Lazaro Armenteros, Robert Puason and Pedro Pineda, the A\u2019s biggest international signing success of the last decade has been Jordan D\u00edaz, who signed out of Colombia for $275,000 in July 2016. Infielder Jordan D\u00edaz had an .881 OPS in his age-21 season last year and made his major-league debut. He\u2019s one of the best pure hitters in the A\u2019s organization. \u2014 Melissa Lockard<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s a close race between infielders Rodolfo Castro and Ji Hwan Bae. Castro, 23, signed for $150,000 in October 2015 out of the Dominican Republic. He\u2019s had brief stints in the majors the past two seasons and batted .224\/.288\/.419 with 16 homers. This year, he\u2019ll go into spring training with a chance to win the starting job at second base. Bae, 23, originally was signed by the Braves, but joined the Pirates in 2018 for $1.25 million when the Braves were penalized for rule violations. Bae made his big league debut last summer and has a good chance to break camp with the Pirates this year. Castro has gotten a bit more big-league playing time and has more pop in his bat, so for now I\u2019ll go with him \u2014 Rob Biertempfel<\/em><\/p>\n He never threw a pitch in the majors for the Phillies, but Sixto S\u00e1nchez was one of the club\u2019s best investments in the last decade. S\u00e1nchez cost only $35,000 to sign. He developed into a top prospect before he turned 19 and the Phillies used him as the centerpiece in a trade with Miami for J.T. Realmuto. The Phillies have had success in turning small-bonus international amateurs into prospects but not necessarily big-league talent. S\u00e1nchez, who last pitched in the majors in the 2020 postseason, is still only 24. But injuries have derailed him. \u2014 Matt Gelb<\/em><\/p>\n The Padres signed Emmanuel Clase for $125,000 in January 2015, and he spent three seasons in the low levels of the organization as a talented but erratic right-hander. Questions about his maturity encouraged San Diego to trade him for catcher Brett Nicholas in 2018. Over the last couple of years, Clase has made multiple teams regret moving on from him; since Texas sent him to Cleveland in a 2019 deal to acquire Corey Kluber, Clase has emerged as maybe the best reliever in baseball, wielding an absurd cutter that averages 100 mph. That pitch, along with a similarly elite slider, has helped the 24-year-old closer to a 1.47 ERA across his first two seasons with the Guardians. In 2022, Clase logged a 1.36 ERA while leading the majors in saves, appearances and games finished. \u2014 Dennis Lin<\/em><\/p>\n Only two international free agents signed after 2013 have made the majors for the Giants: Camilo Doval and Kervin Castro. So the answer is Doval from a pure value standpoint. So, uh, the answer is Doval. And maybe the Giants should fix this.<\/p>\n The answer will almost certainly be Marco Luciano, though. Prospects are volatile, but it\u2019s hard to see how someone with his bat speed and ability to stick up the middle of the diamond can\u2019t have at least an average major-league career. Considering the last international player to get an at-bat with the Giants was Pablo Sandoval, who signed as a free agent in 2003, back when most people had dial-up modems, Luciano can\u2019t come soon enough. \u2014 Grant Brisbee<\/em><\/p>\n It took $1.75 million for the Mariners to sign outfielder Julio Rodr\u00edguez in 2017, which probably now feels like couch change after the return the 22-year-old has already provided the club. Rodr\u00edguez ran away with the American League Rookie of the Year Award and even earned a seventh-place finish in the AL MVP vote after a big first season in the big leagues. Add to that the 12-year extension he signed in the summer that will guarantee him $210 million (with a chance to earn much more). The sky is the limit for him. \u2014 Corey Brock<\/em><\/p>\n The Cardinals signed then-18-year-old Sandy Alc\u00e1ntara as part of their 2013-2014 international class, back when current assistant general manager Mois\u00e9s Rodr\u00edguez served as the organization\u2019s director of international scouting. Alc\u00e1ntara debuted for St. Louis in 2017 but was traded to Miami the following offseason for Marcell Ozuna, a move president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has probably lost some sleep over in hindsight. Since that trade, Alc\u00e1ntara has established himself as one of the top starting pitchers in baseball with two National League All-Star berths under his belt along with unanimously winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2022. \u2014 Katie Woo<\/em><\/p>\n Wander Franco the Wunderkind is a star for a reason. He was limited to 83 games because of lower body issues and a hamate bone fracture that required surgery, but he still showed glimpses of his star status at points throughout the year. Despite missing large swaths of the season, the Rays\u2019 manager still pointed to his own excitement to watch Franco put up big numbers in 2023. We should side with Kevin Cash on this. Franco, signed out of the Dominican Republic not even six years ago, is just barely getting started. \u2014 Maria Torres<\/em><\/p>\n The obvious answer would be Leody Taveras, but for the price ($300,000), it\u2019s hard to top Jonathan Hern\u00e1ndez. At the time, his fastball was in the 80s and he was considered a deception-first guy who wouldn\u2019t overpower hitters. Now armed with a triple-digit \u201cturbo-sinker,\u201d he\u2019s a legit back-end reliever who could find himself in the closer role in 2023. Ask again in a few years, though: it\u2019s very possible that the answer could change to Taveras or Luisangel Acu\u00f1a. \u2014 Levi Weaver<\/em><\/p>\n The Blue Jays have become highly regarded for their international scouting over the last several years, but their best signing of the last decade has to be Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, his family ties meant Guerrero was a recognizable name, but his hitting prowess is what got him noticed. He continued to blossom in their system and debuted with the Blue Jays in 2019 to much fanfare. After an adjustment period, he\u2019s developed into one of the best young hitters in baseball, a Gold Glove-winning first baseman, and a player the Blue Jays are building a playoff-calibre team around. \u2014 Kaitlyn McGrath<\/em><\/p>\n Remember the kid who had to wait until the 2019 World Series was almost over to legally consume alcohol in beer showers? The one with the swaggy shuffle at the plate? Who once carried his bat all the way up the first base line and dropped it at the feet of his first base coach after obliterating a Justin Verlander heater? It was Juan Soto. His short career in Washington will resonate forever in the nation\u2019s capital. \u2014 Maria Torres<\/em><\/p>\n (Top photo of Shohei Ohtani: Ronald Martinez \/ Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nArizona Diamondbacks: Jazz Chisholm<\/h2>\n
Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/h2>\n
Baltimore Orioles: C\u00e9sar Prieto<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers<\/h2>\n
Chicago Cubs: Eloy Jim\u00e9nez<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n Eloy Jim\u00e9nez. (Mark J. Rebilas \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nChicago White Sox: Jos\u00e9 Abreu<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Cincinnati Reds: Elly De La Cruz<\/h2>\n
Cleveland Guardians: Yandy Di\u00e1z<\/h2>\n
Colorado Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar<\/h2>\n
Detroit Tigers: Gregory Soto<\/h2>\n
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\n Gregory Soto. (Kim Klement \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHouston Astros: Framber Valdez<\/h2>\n
Kansas City Royals: Esteury Ruiz<\/h2>\n
Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani<\/h2>\n
Los Angeles Dodgers: Yordan Alvarez<\/h2>\n
Miami Marlins: Eury P\u00e9rez<\/h2>\n
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\n Eury P\u00e9rez. (Photo courtesy of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMilwaukee Brewers: Jackson Chourio<\/h2>\n
Minnesota Twins: Luis Arraez<\/h2>\n
New York Mets: Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez<\/h2>\n
New York Yankees: Oswald Peraza<\/h2>\n
Oakland Athletics: Jordan D\u00edaz<\/h2>\n
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\n Jordan D\u00edaz. (Danne Braden \/ Midland RockHounds)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPittsburgh Pirates: Rodolfo Castro<\/h2>\n
Philadelphia Phillies: Sixto S\u00e1nchez<\/h2>\n
San Diego Padres: Emmanuel Clase<\/h2>\n
San Francisco Giants: Camilo Doval<\/h2>\n
Seattle Mariners: Julio Rodr\u00edguez<\/h2>\n
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\n Julio Rodr\u00edguez. (Joe Nicholson \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSt. Louis Cardinals: Sandy Alc\u00e1ntara<\/h2>\n
Tampa Bay Rays: Wander Franco<\/h2>\n
Texas Rangers: Jonathan Hern\u00e1ndez<\/h2>\n
Toronto Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/h2>\n
Washington Nationals: Juan Soto<\/h2>\n