July 2 marks the beginning of the international free agent signing period, where athletes from outside the United States can sign with MLB teams as long as they are 16 years of age. Teams now need to stick to slotted pool space when allocating money for their signings so that bad teams get to spend more and good teams have to spend less. The Yankees have one of the lower pools in baseball this season with only $1.8 million allotted to them in 2013. They can trade for more pool space, like the Rangers, Orioles, and Dodgers did, in order to spend more money, but so far that hasn't happened and it looks like they're going to miss out on the international market as teams have already snatched up many of the best prospects from the Caribbean, South America, and Central America.
Baseball America's top 30 international prospects:
1. Eloy Jimenez, of, Dominican Republic
2. Gleyber Torres, ss, VenezuelaCubs for $1.7M3. Rafael Devers, 3b, Dominican RepublicRed Sox for $1.5M
4. Luis Encarnacion, 3b, Dominican Republic
5. Leonardo Molina, cf, Dominican Republic6. Marcos Diplan, rhp, Dominican RepublicRangers for $1.3M7. Yeyson Yrizarri, ss, Venezuela/Dominican RepublicRangers for $1.35M
8. Yeltsin Gudino, ss, Venezuela9. Micker Zapata, of, Dominican RepublicWhite Sox for $1.6M10. Jose Herrera, c, VenezuelaDiamondbacks for $1M11. Carlos Herrera, ss, VenezuelaRockies for $1M12. Marten Gasparini, ss, ItalyRoyals for $1.3M13. Erick Julio, rhp, ColombiaSigned by Rockies14. Jesus Lopez, ss, NicaraguaAthletics for $960K
15. Lewin Diaz, of/1b, Dominican Republic16. Erling Moreno, rhp, ColombiaCubs for $800K17. Carlos Hiciano, ss, Dominican RepublicAthletics for $750K
18. Freddy Rodriguez, of, Venezuela
19. Mayky Perez, rhp, Dominican Republic20. Nicolas Pierre, of, Dominican RepublicBrewers for $800K
21. Greifer Andrade, of, Venezuela
22. Cristhian Vasquez, of, Venezuela
23. Jen-Ho Tseng, rhp, Taiwan
24. Wilson Amador, ss, Dominican Republic25. Ali Sanchez, c, VenezuelaMets for $690K
26. Michael de Leon, ss, Dominican Republic
27. Ricardo Sanchez, lhp, Venezuela28. Carlos Talavera, of, VenezuelaCardinals for$500K
29. Anderson Franco, 3b, Dominican Republic
30. Luis Carpio, ss, Venezuela
Those listed as some of the top talent over at Minor League Ball:
14. The Rangers signed outfielder Jose Almonte (DR) for $1.8M
36. The Astros signed shortstop Joan Mauricio (DR) for $600K
38. The Astros signed outfielder Nestor Tejada (VZ)
44. The Cardinals outfielder Carlos Talavera (VZ) for $500K
48. The Yankees signed shortstop Yonauris Rodriguez (DR) for $575K
49. The Red Sox signed left-handed pitcher Emmanuel DeJesus (VZ) for $780K
Other Signings:
The Padres signed shortstop Ruddy Girón (DR) for $600K
The Mets signed right-handed pitcher Luis Silva (VZ) $275K
The Diamondbacks signed outfielder Francis Martinez (DR) for $350K and third baseman Josue Herrera for $150K
The Indians signed outfielder Junior Soto (DR) $600K
The Tigers signed catcher Elys Escobar (VZ) for $350K
The Brewers signed catcher Johel Atencio (PAN) for $130K
The Cardinals signed right-hander Sandy Alcantara (DR) for $150K
The Cubs signed right-handed pitcher Jefferson Mejia (DR) for $850K
The Tigers signed shortstop Hector Martinez (DR) for $400K
The Mets signed shortstop Yeffry de Aza (DR) for $475K
The Cardinals signed shortstop Hector Linares (DR) for $400K
The Cardinals signed left-handed pitcher Kerrion Bennett (NIC) for $30K
The Astros signed shortstop/outfielder Osvaldo Duarte (DR)
The Astros signed shortstop/catcher Jonathan Matute (VZ)