A Comprehensive Review of the Twins International Free Agent Class

[Jamie Cameron]

The Twins were active and aggressive early in the international free agent signing period, flipping two prospects from other organizations. Read up on their class with bonus news, scouting reports, and thoughts on their approach.

Image courtesy of Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) on X/Twitter

The signing period for International Free Agency opened on January 15th, 2025. The Twins are one of eight teams that will have the joint largest bonus pool of $7,555,500. Now that we’re a couple of days in, it’s time for a more full-throated roundup of the Twins class. This update is especially relevant since Minnesota’s class has been added to since our preview article a week or so ago. 

Listed below, you’ll find the players in the class (to date), followed by their position and country of origin (if known). If they have a bonus reported, that’s listed in parentheses too. I’d take these with a grain of salt. You can find an approximate ‘total pool spent’ figure at the bottom of the player pool.

Daniel De La Valle, C, Colombia
Aaron Salazar, C, Venezuela
Pablo Castillo, C

Santiago Castellanos, RHP, Venezuela
Juan Quiñones, LHP, Venezuela
Eliezer Lucena, RHP, Venezuela
Rainer Marin, RHP, Venezuela
Eli Urena, RHP, Dominican Republic
Angel Castillo, P
Juan Figaro, P
Brandy Ceballos, P
Jensi Infante, P

Carlos Taveras, OF, Dominican Republic ($1,200,000), signing reported by Francys Romero on 02.11.25
Teilon Serrano, OF, Dominican Republic ($1,000,000)
Joyner Perez, OF, Dominican Republic
Jhomnardo Reyes, OF, Dominican Republic
Cristian Bonifacio, OF, Dominican Republic
Yovani Duran, OF
Christian Bonifacio, OF

Santiago Leon, SS, Venezuela ($1,000,000)
Haritzon Castillo, SS, Venezuela ($950,000)
Jose Barrios, SS, Venezuela ($850,000)
Dencer Diaz, IF, Dominican Republic ($400,000)
Darwin Almanzar, SS, Dominican Republic ($200,000)
Jamesson Val, 3B, Haiti

Confirmed Bonus Total Spent: ~$5,600,000

As alluded earlier, there has been significant movement in the Twins class since last week. They’ve flipped two prospects from other organizations, one due to the fallout from the Roki Sasaki waiting game. The Twins added OF Teilon Serrano out of the DR, stacking a few hundred thousand atop his previous bonus from the LA Dodgers, who remain in Roki limbo. The Twins also flipped IF Dencer Diaz from Atlanta for a $400,000 bonus. You can find more in depth scouting reports for the Twins major signings at the bottom of this article.

Other Notes From the Class
Santiago Castellanos is the prospect easiest to get excited about in this class. The Venezuelan right-handed pitcher has popped in recent months, and has been up to 97 mph with his fastball, with a feel for spin. Jose Barrios (not to be confused with Berríos) is another top one hundred bonus prospect, a solid all around skillset at shortstop with line drive power. If he makes the majors, Jamesson Val would make history. He’d be the first baseball player from Haiti ever to make the majors, so he’ll be a prospect who's easy to root for. Joyner Perez is a stocky right-handed outfielder who shows an ability to hit the ball hard with consistency, despite a lack of premium athleticism. Jhomnardo Reyes is the opposite, already 6’1 with a ton of power from the left side of the plate. Look out for Venezuelan catcher Aaron Salazar and Dominican shortstop Darwin Almanzar as two dark horse prospects to click this summer.

Teilon Serrano, OF, Dominican Republic
Serrano was previously set to sign with the Dodgers, who seem to be attempting to convince their prospects to wait to sign, or to sign next year. Serrano opted not to wait. A left-handed hitter who currently stands at 6’1, Serrano has good athleticism and a well-rounded offensive profile. The hit tool overshadows power currently, with excellent bat-to-ball skills headlining the skill set. Serrano was previously a shortstop who recently switched to the outfield. That will undoubtedly be a learning curve, but plus speed gives him a chance to stick in centerfield.

Dencer Diaz, IF, Dominican Republic
I haven’t been able to find good reports on Diaz yet, but he’s another flip for the Twins. Originally, he had a deal with the Braves, but he reentered the market after they signed Raudy Reyez (a 16-year-old pitcher who has allegedly been up to 100 mph). Diaz will sign with the Twins for $400,000.

Santiago Leon, SS, Venezuela
The Twins boast a strong Venezuelan class in 2025, headlined by Santiago Leon, a 16-year old shortstop and son of longtime Twins scout Jose Leon. Santiago is a right-handed hitting prospect already standing 6’1 with an offensive skill set headlined by a patient approach at the plate. Scouts are complimentary of both Leon’s bat-to-ball skills, in addition to his selectivity at the plate. While Leon doesn’t have explosive athleticism, he has good hands and moves well defensively, which, combined with an above average arm, gives him a chance to stick at shortstop.

Leon is expected to sign the 20th-largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period, per Baseball America. He signed for ~$1 million.

Carlos Taveras, OF, Dominican Republic
Carlos Taveras, a 16-year old outfielder out of the DR, is already an imposing physical presence and an impressive athlete. Standing at 6’1, he’s a left-handed hitter with good bat speed and the potential to boast serious raw power as he develops. There’s some swing and miss to his offensive game, but there’s plenty of other tools to like, too. Taveras is an above average runner with an above average arm, a combination that should allow him to play centerfield, at least early in his professional career. He’s one of the youngest players in the international class this year.

Taveras is expected to sign the 39th-largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period, per Baseball America. His expected signing bonus is ~$1.2 million. After a delay of almost a month, Francys Romero is reporting that Taveras signed for the Twins on 02.11.25, shortly after turning 16.

Haritzon Castillo, SS, Venezuela
Haritzon Castillo is a switch hitting 16-year-old shortstop prospect out of Venezuela. Castillo doesn’t have a standout tool, and offensively, it’s a profile more similar to Leon’s, than Taveras’. Castillo is currently a hit-over-power offensive profile, with a good approach and direct swings from both sides of the plate. Defensively, Castillo might profile as a prospect who moves around the infield, with the versatility to become a positionally flexible infielder.

Castillo is expected to sign the 47th largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period, per Baseball America. He signed for ~$950,000

How do we tie all of this in a bow? This is a fun class. It’s balanced, both geographically, positionally, and in terms of skill-sets acquired. The Twins were aggressive in the market, flipping two prospects who had deals in place with other, high performing organizations. The reality is, many of these deals were made by the Fred Guerrero led Twins international scouting department, rather than current leadership. Still, as always, this class will be a fun follow in summer ball.

 

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[mikelink45]

I have no idea who is good and who isn't but at least we have something that is real news.  

[AlwaysinModeration]

The scouts spent all of this time chasing down these kids and the player they spent the second most on - a million bucks - is the son of one of the scouts?  Come on.

[Fezig]

With all the budget cutting I'm surprised the Twins gave the draftees jerseys. I figured they'd get leftover replica Mauer replica tee shirts instead.

[Linus]

Thanks for writing this.  Something of substance to read.

[terrydactyls]

49 minutes ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

The scouts spent all of this time chasing down these kids and the player they spent the second most on - a million bucks - is the son of one of the scouts?  Come on.

Mauer was related to a Twins' minor league coach.  Nepotism?  Come on.

[umterp23]

Blinded by the signing dollars and opted for shades for indoor picture. Too cool for old school 

[LambchoP]

Would be nice if a few of these guys turn into top 100 MLB prospects. Kids this young from there countries, you just don't know. Basically all lottery tickets. Let's hope and pray we get something.

[old nurse]

The title of a comprehensive look did not lie as there was a picture of all the signees. They say a picture is worth 1000 words. 

[rdehring]

Have been waiting for this report, thanks.

At first glance, seems this class is larger than most?  Is that true?  Also seems to have more pitchers than I recall from past years.  Considering I can't remember the last Twins pitcher who was an International signee, that they signed, the number of pitchers is encouraging.

Also fantastic seeing three catchers.  Could the Twins find a diamond in this group?  Sure would be nice.  Also expect Papa Leon is the happiest man in the entire Twins organization.  Congrats to him.

[old nurse]

56 minutes ago, umterp23 said:

Blinded by the signing dollars and opted for shades for indoor picture. Too cool for old school 

Just amazes me the useful contributions that some people can make. 

[twinkiesfan11]

Just a guess on Taveras - Players are required to turn 16 before they’re eligible to sign. His writeup mentions he’s among the youngest players in the class, maybe just hasn’t had his 16th birthday yet. BA list him among the signing class in their tracker, Twins obviously wouldn’t report the signing of a currently ineligible player. 

[Dman]

Thanks Jamie was hoping someone would clarify this class after so much late movement.  It sure seems like we essentially traded Taveras for Serrano as I don't see how they would sign their entire class and then add another 1.3 Mil at the end.  Obviously wait and see just how strong that relationship is but the Blue Jays are going to have some serious international money to spend after losing out on Rosaki so I have to believe since he isn't singed Taveras moves on and possibly to a bigger payday unless the Twins trade for some international dollars.  Going to be interesting to see what happens.

Nice class though as I really love Leon's skillset (I thought he signed for 1.7M) and getting the speedy contact hitting Serrano from the Dodgers is a nice get.  Twins need more elite speed in the system and at 16 its gonna be a while till he gets there if he gets there but I still like the decision there.

Also happy to see they got one of the better pitchers this year as we always complain they rarely go for arms.  As stated it is a well rounded class for upside. Now let's hope these guys work out.

[AlwaysinModeration]

4 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Mauer was related to a Twins' minor league coach.  Nepotism?  Come on.

Excellent point, but isn’t it more that the minor league coach was related to Mauer?

Baseball is littered with nepotism.  Players’ kids get way more opportunities than many of their peers.

[ashbury]

Team photo resembles the varsity squad at our local middle school.  😀

[jorgenswest]

7 hours ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

The scouts spent all of this time chasing down these kids and the player they spent the second most on - a million bucks - is the son of one of the scouts?  Come on.

Ranked 24th by MLB.com. Johan de los Santos ranked 23rd got 2.25 million. The guys following were between 1.1 and 1.4 million. Are you complaining that the Twins might have got a discount by signing one of their scouts kids?

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

Excellent point, but isn’t it more that the minor league coach was related to Mauer?

Baseball is littered with nepotism.  Players’ kids get way more opportunities than many of their peers.

Couldn't the same be said for Santiago Leon?

[old nurse]

11 hours ago, twinkiesfan11 said:

Just a guess on Taveras - Players are required to turn 16 before they’re eligible to sign. His writeup mentions he’s among the youngest players in the class, maybe just hasn’t had his 16th birthday yet. BA list him among the signing class in their tracker, Twins obviously wouldn’t report the signing of a currently ineligible player. 

DOB 5/31/2008 according to Milb.com. He has been 16 for a while 

[twinstalker]

I don't know if I'd use the word "flipped."

[Althebum82]

Not only should this guy not be confused with Jose Berrios, he probably should also not have his name highlighted in the story, otherwise he will be confused with a 67 year old former MLB first baseman when you click on his name:  Jose Barrios, SS, Venezuela ($850,000)

 

[Doctor Wu]

Haitian 3B Jamesson Val officially signed with the Minnesota Twins on January 15.

We got a player from Haiti !? That seems to be a rare occurrence, but why is that? We see tons of players coming from the Dominican Republic, but hardly any from Haiti, and both countries occupy the same island. I suppose it may be the infrastructure or politics, or maybe lack of baseball programs in Haiti, but I honestly don't know and I'm curious. Does anyone have any knowledge about baseball culture in Haiti? 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Haitian 3B Jamesson Val officially signed with the Minnesota Twins on January 15.

We got a player from Haiti !? That seems to be a rare occurrence, but why is that? We see tons of players coming from the Dominican Republic, but hardly any from Haiti, and both countries occupy the same island. I suppose it may be the infrastructure or politics, or maybe lack of baseball programs in Haiti, but I honestly don't know and I'm curious. Does anyone have any knowledge about baseball culture in Haiti? 

Politics (like lack of a government), extreme poverty, language barrier, cultural barriers. Guantanamo Bay military base occupies part of Cuba but you're not going to see much cultural crossover.

[DJL44]

21 hours ago, rdehring said:

At first glance, seems this class is larger than most?  Is that true?  Also seems to have more pitchers than I recall from past years.  Considering I can't remember the last Twins pitcher who was an International signee, that they signed, the number of pitchers is encouraging.

It should be larger, they have one of the largest signing bonus budgets.

I think Brusdar Graterol is the most recent international free agent pitcher they signed and developed to the majors. That was 2019. They traded away Luis Gil and Huascar Ynoa.

[Otaknam]

Thanks for the update on the international signings. Unlike MLB, the teams were able to agree on an equitable salary cap for international players. That allows all teams to compete for the best international players, rather than just the big monied teams with huge media contracts, like the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, etc., to corner the market for the highest rated international players. Sadly, MLB hasn’t addressed this disparity at the big league level, which allows teams like the Dodgers to sign Ohtani for $700 million and the other big boys to pay massive contracts to other free agents the mid markets can’t consider. If this disparity isn’t addressed it will continue to hurt the league. The NFL figured out years ago that a level playing field is best for the league, and now it’s the most popular professional sport by far. 

[C_frommn]

Well now that we know what we know. what's going on usually there is a Bunch of doubters griping about spending money, but as of now No real complaints amazing

[Jamie Cameron]

On 1/18/2025 at 8:00 AM, Linus said:

Thanks for writing this.  Something of substance to read.

Thanks for reading it!

[Jamie Cameron]

On 1/18/2025 at 10:19 AM, rdehring said:

Have been waiting for this report, thanks.

At first glance, seems this class is larger than most?  Is that true?  Also seems to have more pitchers than I recall from past years.  Considering I can't remember the last Twins pitcher who was an International signee, that they signed, the number of pitchers is encouraging.

Also fantastic seeing three catchers.  Could the Twins find a diamond in this group?  Sure would be nice.  Also expect Papa Leon is the happiest man in the entire Twins organization.  Congrats to him.

A few people have asked that. Class wise, I think it's about typical. I think we're doing a bit better of a job of telling the stories of the prospects now. Pitching wise, usually don't hear much about them as they are smaller bonus guys.

Hear you on the catchers. Pay attention to Salazar, he's a guy worth monitoring from this class.

[Jamie Cameron]

On 1/18/2025 at 10:27 AM, twinkiesfan11 said:

Just a guess on Taveras - Players are required to turn 16 before they’re eligible to sign. His writeup mentions he’s among the youngest players in the class, maybe just hasn’t had his 16th birthday yet. BA list him among the signing class in their tracker, Twins obviously wouldn’t report the signing of a currently ineligible player. 

Great suggestion. I'm not sure. FWIW, while I think it's worth monitoring, there's no explicit signs he's been flipped somewhere else, all his SM is still connected to the Twins

[Jamie Cameron]

12 hours ago, old nurse said:

DOB 5/31/2008 according to Milb.com. He has been 16 for a while 

Not saying you're wrong, but I'd not rely too heavily on ANY biographical information from any website.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, Jamie Cameron said:

Not saying you're wrong, but I'd not rely too heavily on ANY biographical information from any website.

 

2 hours ago, Jamie Cameron said:

Not saying you're wrong, but I'd not rely too heavily on ANY biographical information from any website.

Mo the MLB which runs the MiLB website is untrustworthy of any information, never minding that if ithe birthday was a problem, MLB is responsible for it.