Most of the shuffling in international free agency is centered squarely around Roki Sasaki and his suitors right now. The Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays have basically put all of their signing plans on hold while Sasaki decides where he wants to play. However, they aren't the only ones who have seen their plans change as the Atlanta Braves had to make an unexpected pivot of their own.
Normally, international prospects have handshake agreements in place with teams like the Braves long before they are eligible to sign. Barring an unexpected injury, age fraud, or something weird like Sasaki popping up, those deals tend to get honored. However, the Braves decided to let one of their prized commitments in infielder Dencer Diaz sign elsewhere in order to ink a deal with RHP Raudy Reyes.
In another organizational shift, Dominican INF Dencer Diaz is set to sign with the Twins for approximately $400k, per sources.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 15, 2025
Diaz had a deal with the Braves but re-entered the market to allow the Braves to sign flamethrowing RHP Raudy Reyes.
Braves thought enough of Raudy Reyes to completely alter their international free agency plans
Losing Diaz does stink as it seems like he is a very decent infield prospect. He clearly landed on his feet with the Twins and any player who gets a healthy six figure bonus this time of year definitely has some talent. However, the really intriguing part here is that the Braves were willing to go back on their word with Diaz in order to sign Reyes.
So what gives here? The Braves need position player prospects and pitchers are extremely risky bets. Why in the world would Atlanta potentially alienate a player and his handlers in order to sign a teenage pitching prospect? Well, there is more to the story than that.
Two scouts with other teams said #Braves have $1.8M agreement w/ 16-yo Dominican Raudy Manuel Reyes Abreu, an RHP who had growth spurt in past year, changed his mechanics, and increased his velo from low/mid 90s to 102 mph. He’s 6-3 and 210 lbs. Signing period starts Wednesday.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) January 13, 2025
While the Reyes signing is not official yet, that the Braves came up with $1.8 million in international bonus pool money to go out and grab Reyes late in the process makes a lot more sense now. Apparently, after a couple of tweaks and a big-time growth spurt, Reyes is now piping fastballs over 100 mph and appears to be built like a linebacker. If you are going to piss off some people by breaking promises, Reyes is the type of talent to do it for.
Of course, Reyes isn't likely to factor into the Braves' plans super soon. Sure, he throws ridiculously hard for 16 years old and that is a special thing, but he still has a lot to learn about getting professional hitters out and developing a true repertoire to accomplish his goals. Again, pitchers are risky and there are no guarantees in player development. That said, the Braves clearly thought enough of this kid to take more than one risk to snag him.