The Orioles had just over $8 million to spend on signing their international prospects, and more than three-quarters of it went to four teenaged prospects from the Dominican Republic.
Shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo, who recently turned 17, was given a $2.3 million bonus, a club record. Outfielders Ariel Roque, Pedro Gomez and Gabriel Rosario each signed for over $1 million.
“A lot of years in the working,” Koby Perez, the Orioles’ vice president of international scouting and operations said in a video conference call. “It feels like these kids are super young when we sign them at 16 or 17, but we’ve been working on them for years.”
The Orioles signed just 10 players, a much smaller number than in the first few years after Perez joined the team in 2019, but they’ve concentrated on more highly skilled players.
“This is kind of the year we were able to go a little bit bigger,” Perez said. “This year we were able to get in front and get some of these better players.”
The Orioles’ biggest international success under Perez was the signing of catcher Samuel Basallo in 2021, and it paid off when he debuted in 2025 and signed an eight-year, $67 million extension with an option for 2034 five days after his first game.
“I think that definitely helped,” Perez said. “We’re able to sign players and get them up the line … Some agents and families and players started understanding that Baltimore could be a path for them. We’ve proven that we can have a good track record.”
Acevedo’s signing bonus is slightly more than the team gave shortstop Luis Almeyda in 2023, and Perez is bullish on his newest big-name signee.
“He’s a player who we think has a chance at five tools,” Perez said. “Really good defensively, strong arm, good game aptitude. We really think he can hit. We feel his bat is going to play. He’s the type of player who can be in the middle of the order.”
Roque is “a five-tool centerfielder. He can run. He can throw. He can hit and he can defend. We’re betting on his athleticism.”
Gomez is attractive to Perez because of his bat. “We think he’s going to play in the corners, but we think his bat has a chance to be impact.”
Rosario is a converted catcher. Though the Orioles compared him to Basallo, another left-handed hitting catcher, he doesn’t have nearly as good an arm.
The Orioles signed one pitcher, left-hander Andri Hidalgo, for $625,000, the largest bonus for a Latin American pitcher. The Orioles have been watching the 16-year-old for two years.
“Everything is pointing up,” Perez said. “He just continues to get better. We think he can be on top prospect boards shortly.”
There’s not an obvious player who’ll follow Basallo to the major leagues. Perez thinks infielder Aron Estrada and left-hander Luis De Léon, who both finished last season at Double-A Chesapeake, are the best bets.
“These two guys can be there quickly, even as soon as this year,” Perez said.
Eight of the players signed are from the Dominican Republic, a place where it’s easier to find talent.
“A lot of people play,” Perez said. “We sift through thousands of kids every year and a few hundred sign. It’s very competitive. They take their baseball very, very seriously, sometimes a little too serious where they don’t go to school.”
Major league teams would prefer an international draft to the current system, but players resisted the draft in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“With those types of numbers, with kids playing, you’re going to get a lot of names to sign professionally and a lot of major league players,” Perez said.
“I wish the system was a little different and some of them had better fallback plans. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten there yet. We are trying to help with Major League Baseball to try to better the process for those players who don’t make it and are able to have success in other things.”
Two catchers from Venezuela, Luis Dias and Ray Faria, were signed. Perez says the political turmoil in Venezuela hasn’t affected baseball.
“It’s business as usual with some uncertainty with what will happen,” he said. “We’ve already [brought] in Venezuelan players to the Dominican and the U.S. to get started on the year.”
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