While Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continue to limp in between bargaining sessions during the game's ninth work stoppage, clubs have now turned their attention to the international signing period, which began Saturday.
The Texas Rangers committed more than $3 million on two Latin American outfielders—Anthony Gutierrez (Venezuela) and Jose de Jesus (Dominican Republic)—as part of 17 international free agent signings announced by the club. According to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez, Gutierrez signed for $2 million and de Jesus signed for $1.2 million. Gutierrez and de Jesus rank No. 6 and No. 27 respectively on MLB.com's Top 50 International Prospects List.
The Rangers entered the 2021-22 international signing period with $5,179,700 to spend. Players that sign for less than $10,000 do not count against their bonus pool.
Gutierrez, 17, had been linked to the Washington Nationals and it looked like he may wait another year to sign with them in the next signing period. However, the Rangers made a strong push in the months leading up to this period and ultimately landed him. According to Baseball America, Gutierrez is one of the better power bats in the class and has a "promising mix of size, athleticism and instincts, with broad shoulders, long limbs and plenty of physical upside remaining." While he has the ability to play center field, his 6-foot-3, 185-pound build projects him as a right fielder.
de Jesus, 17, is a switch-hitting centerfielder with plus speed and has gotten faster during the scouting process. According to Baseball America, there is a mixed feeling from scouts about his hit tool. Some liked his swing and strike-zone judgement while others felt his hitting was a bit behind some of his other tools. de Jesus is a line-drive hitter with good gap power and displays more power from the right side. He could still develop more power as he physically matures.
Here is the full list of signings announced by the club on Saturday:
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