The Pirates are taking advantage of a unique international signing period, with two big-time agreements expected to be finalized when the period opens on Jan. 15.
Pittsburgh reportedly will sign shortstops Darell Morel (ranked No. 20) and Johan De Los Santos (ranked No. 23), according to Baseball America. Morel and De Los Santos both hail from the Dominican Republic, with the latter being the younger brother of former top signing Yordany De Los Santos.
The Los Angeles Dodgers essentially made the top signing possible, as they’re clearing as much international bonus pool space as possible to sign Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki. LA previously had a pre-arranged deal with Morel, which would no longer be honored after the movement on Sasaki, allowing Pittsburgh to slide in with a deal projected to be close to $1.8 million.
Major League Baseball set up the international market to offer a level playing field, with teams limited to making contract offers from their international bonus pool money. Pittsburgh, being a more cost-conscious club, showed off why that was so important on Wednesday.
The Dodgers are one of the final teams in on Sasaki, though they aren’t guaranteed to land him. The Pirates, however, got their guys.
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