A's Officially Sign 4 International Free Agents With More on the Way
Yesterday was the first day of the International Signing Period, and while a lot of the player's landing spots are known in advance, they tend to trickle out a little bit over the course of days. Some players destinations have been reported, but have not made it to MiLB's transactions page just yet.
On Monday, the A's made four signings official according to the Minor League Baseball transactions page. Those four players are shortstop Samuel Gonzalez, right-hander Oliver Sirotti, shortstop Edgar Montero, and righty Yohandri Contreras. Jose Ramos is another player that has reportedly signed with the A's, but he is not on the official transactions page.
According to MLB Pipeline's rankings, Montero and Ramos ranked 43rd and 47th among this year's class. Montero is listed as a shortstop on the transactions page, but as a third baseman on Pipeline. He's a switch-hitter, regardless of his position, and grades out as an overall 50 on the 20-80 scouts scale with above average tools across the board. His best weapon is his hit tool, which ranked as a 55, while his power, run, arm, and field attributes came in at 50. His scouting report says that the 17-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is also projected to stick at shortstop.
Baseball America ranked Montero at 33rd on their list.
Ramos is from Venezuela and scored straight 50's across the board from Pipeline, who say he's a "prospect to watch" because of his speed and power combination. Those two tools have been something we've seen the A's targeting a little more often of late. The hope is that Esteury Ruiz unlocks some of his power in Oakland next year, while 2022 second rounder Henry Bolte (14 home runs, 32 stolen bases in 2023) continues on his trajectory as he climbs the organizational ladder.
Ramos was also said to have one of the smoothest left-handed swings in the class. Baseball America ranked him 35th.
The full list of signings (albeit not officially official) per BA:
Erick Matos, RHP, Cuba
Sebastian Rojas, OF, Venezuela
Alejandro Pereira, C, Venezuela
Samuel Gonzalez, SS, Venezuela
Celso Lopez, RHP, Venezuela
Yohandri Contreras, RHP, Venezuela
Franco Zabaleta, LHP, Colombia
Nathan Arends, RHP, Aruba
Oliver Sirotti, RHP, Venezuela
The A's had a little over $6.5 million to spend this signing period.