Atlanta Braves: an update to International signings

While the International signing period opened on January 15, it has remained open with several teams continuing to add teen-aged talent.  Let’s see how the Atlanta Braves ranks now.

When we last checked in on the Atlanta Braves and their International signings for 2022, the team had inked 15 teenagers from Latin American countries to start pro careers as Braves.

Based on figures obtained by Baseball America, that number hasn’t changed.  What has changed is the volume of signings that other organizations have made.  Some of the updates are quite significant.

As a specific example, NL East rival Miami Marlins have dug deep. It’s something you might have expected, given their local demographics.  Indeed, their minor leagues are quite well represented by Latin players

But when we reported on January 17, the Marlins were among the teams with roughly an average number of signees… the same number as the Braves at 15.

That number has jumped upward in the past 2 weeks, however:  to thirty-nine.  In fact, the Marlins now lead all of MLB in the total number of signees.

There is still a big difference between those engaging strongly in the International market and those choosing not to do so.  Here is the full list of MLB teams and the number of their signees as of Sunday (January 30th).  The amount of each club’s bonus pool is given in (parentheses):

• 3 signings – Chicago White Sox ($5,179,700)
• 4 signings – Oakland Athletics ($5,179,700)
• 6 signings – Seattle Mariners ($5,179,700)
• 7 signings – Kansas City Royals ($6,262,600)
• 7 signings – New York Yankees ($5,179,700)
• 9 signings – Minnesota Twins ($5,721,200)
• 10 signings – San Francisco Giants ($5,179,700)
• 10 signings – Washington Nationals ($5,179,700)
• 11 signings – Arizona D-backs ($6,262,600)
• 11 signings – Tampa Bay Rays ($5,721,200)
• 12 signings – Colorado Rockies ($6,262,600)
• 12 signings – St. Louis Cardinals ($6,262,600)
• 13 signings – Chicago Cubs ($5,179,700)
• 13 signings – Detroit Tigers ($5,721,200)
• 14 signings – Cincinnati Reds ($5,721,200)
• 15 signings – Atlanta Braves ($5,179,700)
• 16 signings – Boston Red Sox ($5,179,700)
• 16 signings – Cleveland Guardians ($6,262,600)
• 16 signings – Houston Astros ($5,179,700)
• 16 signings – Los Angeles Angels ($5,179,700)
• 19 signings – Philadelphia Phillies ($5,179,700)
• 19 signings – Pittsburgh Pirates ($6,262,600)
• 19 signings – Texas Rangers ($5,179,700)
• 19 signings – Toronto Blue Jays ($4,644,000)
• 21 signings – New York Mets ($5,179,700)
• 25 signings – San Diego Padres ($6,262,600)
• 27 signings – Baltimore Orioles ($6,262,600)
• 31 signings – Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,644,000)
• 33 signings – Milwaukee Brewers ($5,721,200)
• 39 signings – Miami Marlins ($5,721,200)

The Phillies have also stepped up in the last couple of weeks.  It’s also notable that the Mets are also heavily invested with 21 signees.

That only leaves the Nationals on the “lean” side as compared to the rest of the NL East.

As noted previously, these are just “numbers”… the real talent will take time to emerge, regardless of whatever bonus monies might have been paid out.

While it’s essentially impossible to assess any team’s work at this point, it is definitely a benefit to have more of these kids to work with than not.  So for those teams getting 10 or fewer signees… that’s just difficult to justify, given the opportunity available.

A few more signings will trickle in after some upcoming birthdays occur, but this will be the vast extent of the list for this calendar year.  Hopefully, the Braves were able to find some good kids to sign after spending the past few seasons on the sidelines.