The Atlanta Braves are once again taking a big swing on one of the most exciting international prospects available. The club wasted no time with international signing day opening up today. According to Francys Romero, the Braves have officially signed 16 year-old Cuban outfielder Diego Tornes with a $2.5 million bonus.
The Braves will have an international bonus pool of $6,261,600 to sign these international prospects, and Tornes will obviously be receiving the biggest payday of this next group.
Cuban outfielder Diego Tornes (16) has officially signed with the Atlanta Braves.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 15, 2025
Bonus deal: $2,500,000.
Trained by Alex Sanchez Academy, Tornes left Cuba in 2021 at the age of 13. A switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate. Five-tool player. pic.twitter.com/rQMRC0cgMS
Braves land one of the most powerful five-tool prospects on the international market
Despite being just 16 years of age, Tornes is regarded as one of the most powerful hitters in this international free agent class. He stands a towering 6'4 and possesses advanced bat speed for his age. Tornes is also a switch-hitter with the ability to play all three outfield spots, at least for now.
The Braves have long been rumored to be the favorite to land Tornes, but the official news is an exciting bit of information for a fanbase starving for good news at the moment. Along with Tornes, the Braves are expected to sign hard-throwing RHP Raudy Reyes who also ranks in the top 100 available international free agents. Those will likely be the two big signings, and Atlanta will shell out the rest of their pool with other players that have intriguing tools.
It's important for Atlanta to begin to hit on some of these IFA players this year. Guys like Diego Benitez and Ambioris Tavarez haven't shown much upside thus far, and their most recent signings, Luis Guanipa and Jose Perdomo, are off to sluggish starts as well. However, unlike the players they draft in June, these IFA's are often younger than those prospects as well as adjusting to cultural shock of living in another country for the first time.
Hopefully, Tornes and the 2025 class can get off to better starts, but it won't be completely shocking to watch the 16 year-old outfielder simply find his footing throughout his first year of professional baseball.