The 2024 International Signing Period opened on Monday, January 15th. It will remain open until December 15th. As most of us are aware, organizations have had agreements with these players for as long as two years. Monday was the day the signings could be announced and were made official.
Baseball America reported that the Phillies had 14 agreements in place with players. That number has grown to 18 players. However, only 14 of those signings have been announced as of this morning.
The Phillies actually had 22 agreements in place as of Monday morning. They have announced 15 signings on their transaction pages.
Here is a combined list of the players signed and those expected to sign within the coming days, week, or month.
- Jalvin Arias, OF, Dominican Republic
- Cesar Mujica, C, Venezuela
- Julio Polanco Jr., RHP, Dominican Republic
- Anderson Navas, C, Venezuela
- Winifer Castillo, OF, Dominican Republic
- Yadimir Fuentes, C, Cuba
- Jorge Guzman, LHP, Mexico
- Mailerson Casanova, OF, Dominican Republic
- Ibrahim Ruiz, OF, Venezuela
- Josueth Quiñonez, OF, Venezuela
- Jose Familia, SS, Dominican Republic
- Cristobal Bena, SS, Dominican Republic
- David Freitas, OF, Venezuela
- Rene Yrish, RHP, Dominican Republic
- Samuel Estevez, OF, Dominican Republic
- Freiderman Aguilera, OF, Venezuela
- Geremi Delpino, RHP, Venezuela
- Francisco Loreto, C, Venezuela
- C Santiago Prado, C, Venezuela
Castillo, Fuentes, Guzman, and Cassanova (5,6,7,8 on the list above) are listed on Baseball America as having agreements in place but haven’t been announced by the Phillies as of this morning. Prado (19 on the list above) has been signed by the Phillies but was not on Baseball America’s list. (The numbers mean nothing more than counting. They are not rankings or any other such device.)
Now, a little history or background if you will.
There was no cap on international bonuses until 2012 when the bonus pool system was inserted into the CBA. In that iteration of the pool, overspending was punished with a luxury tax. Many teams would blow by the limit in a big way one year, pay the tax, then blow past it again at their next opportunity. MLB introduced the hard cap on international spending in the 2017 CBA (thru 2021). It is still in place.
Prior to 2012, in spite of the commissioner’s urging teams to limit international spending, most teams ignored spending limits. Bill Giles and the Phillies were one of the teams who followed the commissioner’s requests as though they were law and fell behind other teams in gaining a foothold in the international market. That decision (and name recognition) has more to do than anything with the Phillies’ inability to successfully crack the Latin American market for star prospects. It has very little to do with their ability to scout Latin players. It has everything to do with the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, and other teams establishing themselves with the buscones 25 to 30 years ago when the Phillies followed Selig’s wishes at the behest of Bill Giles.
A buscone is a trainer/agent. He searches for, identifies, reaches agreement with, trains, and showcases young baseball players (some as young as 12-years-old) to MLB scouts in the hope that he can get one or more of his stable of players a contract with a professional team. The buscone does this for a portion of the player’s signing bonus like an American agent for ballplayers in the US.
These buscones are the people that teams negotiate illegal agreements with prior to signing day. Illegal by MLB’s own rules.
This is the system MLB wants to wipe out with an international draft which would give the owners greater control over bonuses and spending on players. MLB will list all sorts of benefits of a draft for the players while hoping no one will notice all the money they save when they control all the means of production.
Now, a team like the Phillies would benefit from an Interntional draft because it would level the playing field for them. It would practically eliminate all the shortcomings that arose from the Giles’ decision to not enter the international market as strongly as the teams that did. But I will always be wary of anything that MLB says is for the good of the game. That ultimately means for the good of the owners.
Sorry. As I reread the above it sounds a little preachy to me. But I think that one fateful, misguided, executive decision decades ago is what still has the biggest negative influence on the Phillies inability to navigate the international market as well as other teams.
Transactions
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF Samuel Estevez to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF Freiderman Aguilera to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF Jalvin Arias to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA RHP Rene Yrish to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF Ibrahim Ruiz to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA C Cesar Mujica to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA RHP Julio Polanco to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA SS Jose Familia to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA C Anderson Navas to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA RHP Geremi Delpino to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA SS Cristobal Bena to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA C Santiago Prado to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF Josueth Quinonez to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA OF David Freitas to an MiLB contract
1/15/2024 – Phillies signed IFA C Francisco Loreto to an MiLB contract
1/09/2024 – RHP Wilmer Blanco assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – RHP Alexis De La Cruz assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – C Angel Mata assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – C Euduardo Tait assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – INF Nolan Beltran assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – INF Aroon Escobar assigned to the FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White
1/08/2024 – Albert Rodriquez released by the FCL Phillies
1/08/2024 – Jehisbert Sevilla released by the FCL Phillies
1/08/2024 – SS Erick Baria released by DSL Phillies Red
1/08/2024 – SS Yoangel Ramos released by DSL Phillies Red
1/08/2024 – OF Jose Leanez released by DSL Phillies Red
1/08/2024 – 2B Arquedion Muller released by DSL Phillies Red
1/08/2024 – SS Luis Pelegrín released by DSL Phillies White
1/09/2024 – Phillies signed FA RHP Zach Haake to an MiLB contract
1/07/2024 – Phillies signed FA LHP Lachlan Wells to an MiLB contract
12/22/2023 – Phillies signed FA RHP Efrain Contreras to an MiLB contract
Phuture Phillies 
It always angered me that Giles made the Phillies follow the recommended guidelines set up by the commissioner. At first it was alright to follow but after a year or two when you realize other are not, especially the smaller teams that the guidelines were set up to help the Phillies needed to ignore the self imposed cap. The Phils would have cleaned up from 2008 till 2012 because the team was extremely popular.
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I remember about two, maybe three CBA back or so, the owners pushed for an international draft….same slotted money as the Rule 4.
The Latin American MLB caucus…which was comprised of roughly about 30% of MLB players….said they would strike if a draft was ever implemented….owners and MLB caved.
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I get what you are saying Jim but I think what is best for the fans more often than not turns out to be in favor of owners.
I’m not anti labor or union in any respect.
The fans drive the market and ultimately drive salaries. The fans buy the jerseys, pay for the cable subscriptions and buy the game day tickets.
Therefore I’ve always believed and still believe that the playing field for talent acquisition should be level. Thus I believe in an international draft sooner rather than later.
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Please don’t think I am pro-union based on my statements above. I think unions are a necessary evil and prone to the same strengths and weaknesses as individuals. I’ve seen good and bad from both sides of the dividing line between management and labor.
I see merit in your opinions. I have varying degrees of “agree and disagree” with them. Nothing so severe that we can’t co-exist.
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I agree – and disagree . A spending limit does not mean that you can not establlsh the relationships with the people who matter, and the facilities to promote your organization. Prospects from this area of the world just were not valued in the Giles era versus others – just as many on this site have similarly commented after the Giles era on Asia.
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Nowhere above do I say that a spending limit is preventing the Phillies from establishing relationships in the international market. To the contrary, I say that a spending limit would benefit the Phillies by leveling the playing field and imply that would happen because it would practically eliminate the strong relationships that the better entrenched teams have in the international market.
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I agree, Jim P. My comment was in reference to what I understood was your referral to the Giles action to not invest fully, and that you can still not overspend yet created relationships. I did not mean in any way to imply that you said otherwise, only to refer to your pointing out that the buscones did not favor the Phillies.
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