The international signing period has been pretty slow around all of baseball, not just with the Yankees, and a lot of that has to do with MLB’s identity investigations. The overall lack of talent this year is certainly a factor as well. The best pitcher on the market this year is 15-year-old Mexican righty Luis Heredia, and reportedly the Yankees are getting more serious about pursuing him. They have expressed interest in him in the past.
Baseball America ranked Heredia as the top pitching prospect and second best overall prospect on the international market this year (sub. req’d), saying the 6-foot-4, 180 pounder “has an excellent fastball that sits at 88-91 mph with good life and has touched 92.” Heredia is in a unique situation because he’s already signed on with a Mexican League club, so any team that wishes to sign him has to negotiate with the club for his rights. Under this scenario, the team will usually keep 75% of the bonus while the player receives just 25%. It could cost upwards of $3M to sign Heredia, a hefty price for someone so young and unrefined. The Yankees do have an exceptionally strong presence in Mexico, which should help.
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