Drayer: Mariners announce 3 international signings to farm system
Jan 18, 2022, 4:56 PM
With MLB’s international signing period opening Saturday, young players who have long had the eyes of and agreements with different organizations at long last were able to officially sign with their teams. On Tuesday afternoon, the Mariners finally officially announced the three newest Mariners:
• Michael Arroyo, IF, Colombia
• Martín Gonzalez, IF, Dominican Republic
• Lázaro Montes, OF, Cuba
“It’s great to be adding these three young players to an already exciting Mariners minor league system,” Mariners director of international amateur scouting Frankie Thon Jr. said. “Each of them offers a unique skillset that our Player Development staff should really enjoy working with. We are also thrilled with the quality of the people that we are bringing onboard.”
The trio are the young headliners of a Seattle international class that, according to Baseball America, consists of six players. Montes reportedly has signed for $2.5 million, Arroyo $1.375 million and Gonzalez $1.3 million. With the Mariners working with an international bonus pool of $5,179,700, most of that pool was exhausted by the three players announced Tuesday. This is a bit of a different approach for the Mariners, who in the past tended to spread the dollars out across a larger class.
While the bonus pool amounts are firm, more players can be added as signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count towards a club’s bonus pool.
At 17 years old, all three players are years away from the majors, but there is excitement about Montes in particular, who has drawn comparisons to Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez, whose trainer he works with.
Here are brief descriptions from Thon on each of the three signees from the Mariners’ press release on the signings:
• Montes, 17, is a left-handed hitting outfielder who has the ability to develop into an impactful middle of the order power bat with solid feel for the strike zone. He’s an above-average hitter with on-base skills to complement his top-of-scale elite raw power. Montes is a steady defender on the outfield corners and a solid athlete. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound outfielder possesses a larger than life frame with an even bigger personality.
• Arroyo, 17, is a right-handed hitting infielder who is considered one of the more advanced pure hitters in the 2022 international class. He stood out as a performer across different international events in numerous countries. Arroyo has a quick and compact swing with developing power and good knowledge of the strike zone with mature swing decisions. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound infielder has a solid glove in the infield, likely setting in at second or third base.
• Gonzalez, 17, is right-handed hitting infielder who has been praised for his glovework at shortstop, ranking as one of the better pure defenders in the 2022 international class. Gonzalez has also shown a plus arm for the position. At the plate, he has surprising raw strength considering his frame and profiles as more of a power hitter than a natural one. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound infielder is a solid overall athlete with average speed.
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