Twins Pick Up Displaced International Prospect Who Had Committed to Sign With Dodgers

[Matthew Trueblood]

One of the fascinating and important knock-on effects of the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes is a miniature windfall of international amateur free agents becoming unexpectedly available at the last second, as a new window for signing such players begins Wednesday. This was foreseen. Sasaki's signing bonus with whichever team he selects (it's down to the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays) will have to come from a finite, hard-capped pool of money allotted for each team to spend on these players each year, and since teams strike handshake deals with big-money prospects long before the actual opening of the signing period, whoever signs Sasaki will have to throw back a few high-profile members of their class.

On Tuesday night, the Twins were the beneficiaries of that situation. Teilon Serrano, a Dominican shortstop-turned-outfielder with impressive tools and a mid-six-figure expected price tag, was set to sign with the Dodgers, but they released him to seek a deal with another team, and Minnesota has swooped in to scoop him up.

The frequent metaphor for players like these is an accurate one: they're lottery tickets. Serrano is unlikely even to play in the big leagues, let alone to become a star. Still, just as you'd happily take an extra fourth-round draft pick if it were just floating out there for the taking, it's worth pursuing a player like Serrano if your scouts have done some due diligence on him and like what they've seen—and the disruptive influence of Sasaki has given the Twins just such an opportunity.

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[Cory Engelhardt]

Figured agreements like this could happen with other teams. Also could be a sign that Sasaki is going to be a Dodger. Hopefully this works out for Teilon and the Twins in his future. 

[Otaknam]

Since there is a cap on what each team can spend for international free agents, does this mean that the Twins are reneging on an agreement with another player, who they like less than Serrano? 

[Sjoski]

<<<the disruptive influence of Sasaki has given the Twins just such an opportunity>>>

Sorry, is it not more realistic to say the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. 

I love baseball, but my interest in MLB is only growing weaker by the day with news like this.

[AKTwinsFan]

Love the sarcasm. Keep it coming.

[KBJ1]

Yeah baseball needs to fix the gap between the haves and have not- like the NFL will full and equal revenue sharing.

Eliminate ridiculous future forward paid contracts like Ohtani's and establish reasonable spending caps.

[Blyleven2011]

I hope Serrano isn't bringing jo boo with him ...

[Doctor Gast]

I hope Serrano becomes a very good MLB player. But IMO it's a poor consolation prize. I'm sorry if I'm not excited about this crop beyond Sasaki.

[purplesoldier4u]

Serrano has a lot of speed, something this team needs to add.

[Doctor Wu]

On 1/15/2025 at 9:12 AM, Matthew Trueblood said:

Serrano is unlikely even to play in the big leagues, let alone to become a star.

Sure, it's unlikely but still within the realm of possibility. Hopefully he will be one of those prospects that actually DOES end up being a factor in the majors. You can never have enough good athletes in the system, so I'm happy that we are able to sign him. 

[DJL44]

16 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I hope Serrano becomes a very good MLB player. But IMO it's a poor consolation prize. I'm sorry if I'm not excited about this crop beyond Sasaki.

That's pretty dismissive of everyone else. There are future All-Stars and possibly future Hall of Famers in this class of amateurs.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I think you buried the lede.  This signing is a clear indication that the Twins are not signing Sasaki.

[ashbury]

7 hours ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

I think you buried the lede.  This signing is a clear indication that the Twins are not signing Sasaki.

Sasaki's agency telling all but three teams they aren't final candidates also serves as an indication of sorts. 

[Joe A. Preusser]

Who's the Juan Soto in the 2025 bunch?  I'll take as many whacks at that pinata as possible please.  

 

[tony&rodney]

We have to chuckle that kids 12-16 have to work full time in Latin America in an attempt to draw interest and hope for a contract to play baseball someday in America. MLB managed to collude on the amount teams can spend while evading the obvious solution of a global draft. Imperialism lives on.

[Joe A. Preusser]

"We have to chuckle that kids 12-16 have to work full time in Latin America in an attempt to draw interest and hope for a contract to play baseball someday in America. MLB managed to collude on the amount teams can spend while evading the obvious solution of a global draft. Imperialism lives on."

 

An interesting thought that I'm not sure I agree with.  Are you assuming Latin American countries are impoverished, starving nations?  I would say they are likely poorer than the US, but by no means destitute or ignorant. 

Teams build baseball academies to support the growth of the game in those countries and most importantly scout for talent.  I don't believe it's either "work full time" playing baseball in the hope of getting an MLB contract, or starve.  It must certainly be enticing to those young players and their families, but it's not like they can't work towards other gainful employment, right?  

I am all for an international draft, or some combination of a domestic and international draft.  But to call the current system imperial seems misguided.