New York Mets Get Look at Top International Prospect Who Has Record-Setting Deal

Elian Peña, signed at age 17, made his debut in the Dominican Summer League on Monday.

The New York Mets logo stands in center field before the game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in March 2022. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Play began Monday in the Dominican Summer League, giving the New York Mets a good look at their $5 million teenager.

And while shortstop Elian Peña didn't get a base hit, the 17-year-old shortstop didn't disappoint.

Peña is assigned to the Mets’ Orange team, which beat the San Francisco Giants’ Black squad 8-5 in a seven-inning contest. Peña was 0-for-2 but reached base on an error and a hit-by-pitch. He scored two runs and stole a base.

New York dished out what MLB.com said was a club-record signing bonus to ink the No. 3 international prospect, as ranked by MLB Pipeline. His deal represented 79.9 percent of the available $6.26 million in international pool money the Mets had.

Elian Peña makes his DSL Mets debut today.

Mets gave him the largest signing bonus ever in team history. pic.twitter.com/d1M0TVq2FZ

— Ben Yoel (@Ben_Yoel) June 2, 2025

Peña is assigned to the Mets’ Orange team, which beat the San Francisco Giants’ Black squad 8-5 in a seven-inning contest. Peña was 0-for-2 but reached base on an error and a hit-by-pitch. He scored two runs and stole a base.

The Mets can afford to play the long game with Peña. Francisco Lindor is locked in at shortstop now, and top prospect Jett Williams – a shortstop/outfielder – is waiting in the wings. MLB Pipeline ranks Peña as the No. 8 overall prospect in New York’s farm system with a projected arrival date in the big leagues of 2030.

Here is what MLB Pipeline says about Peña:

“Peña wowed evaluators as an amateur with his elite plate discipline, often refusing to expand the zone in showcase settings. … He has ample bat speed from the left side too, and he’s shown a capability of spraying the ball to all fields when he finds a pitch worthy of a swing. There could be even more power to come as he continues to mature and fill out his 5-foot-10 frame, but it already projects for at least average. 

"Peña is a solid runner right now, though some scouts are concerned he’ll slow down as he ages. His footwork, hands, arm strength and overall actions certainly fit shortstop right now, and if he needs to move on the dirt to either second or third, he could be above-average defensively there too. Anything could happen on the long road of development – and a big bonus isn’t indicative of future success on its own – but Peña has all the pieces to become a prominent piece of the Mets’ current pipeline and future Major League club.”

Good words, indeed, to the ears of Mets' fans.