Twins sign DR prospect who served suspension for falsifying his age

Angel Ozuna was going to sign a big-time deal with the Yankees before it was revealed that he lied about his age.

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The Twins are reportedly signing a prospect from the Dominican Republic who recently served a one-year suspension for falsifying his age.

Angel Ozuna was once set to receive around $5-6 million from the New York Yankees to sign as one of the top prospects in either the 2027 or 2028 international free agent classes (rumors/reports vary). However, that deal died when Ozuna was discovered to be part of a scandal involving numerous players (many of them in the DR) who claimed to be several years younger than they were.

Instead of signing with the Yankees for $5-6 million as a marquee international free agent, Ozuna wound up landing a deal with the Twins for closer to $500K. After serving his one-year suspension — the standard MLB punishment for such offenses — he's expected to be part of Minnesota's 2026 IFA class, which will be finalized on international signing day (which is January 15 annually).

Hector Gomez on X

Ozuna, a shortstop, was certainly viewed more favorably by international scouts when he was considered to be 2-3 years younger than his actual age. Nonetheless, he clearly has the talent to be an intriguing part of the Twins' upcoming international signing class.

Last year, the Twins signed four of the top 50 prospects in the 2025 IFA class, all of them from the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. They got their first taste of professional action this past year with the DSL Twins in the Dominican Summer League.