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Blue Jays announce 2026 international free agent signings

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Thomas Hall | Last updated Jan 21, 2026 3:30 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays organization officially announced the signings of 27 international free agents on Wednesday, headlined by Venezuelan catcher Juan Caricote, who signed for a reported bonus of $1.95 million.

Other notables included Dominican outfielders Michael Mesa and Aneudy Severino, who’ve reportedly signed for $900,000 and $700,000, respectively. Those signings were the second- and third-richest handed out by the franchise, behind Caricote’s bonus.

In total, the Blue Jays have signed 11 pitchers, six infielders, five catchers and four outfielders from the 2026 class so far, and they can continue to sign international players until the current signing period concludes on Dec. 15.

OFFICIAL: We've signed the following 27 International Free Agents.

Welcome to our #BlueJays family pic.twitter.com/PlBWHMOlFC

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 21, 2026

Toronto’s front office entered the ’26 signing period with a $5.94 million international signing bonus pool, $500,000 less than their original amount as a result of signing qualified free agent Anthony Santander last winter. The franchise has already forfeited $1 million from its ’27 signing bonus pool for acquiring another qualified free agent this off-season — right-hander Dylan Cease.

Teams are permitted to acquire additional international bonus funds via trade, as the Blue Jays did last winter as part of the Myles Straw trade, receiving $2 million from the Cleveland Guardians — an amount they had hoped to use in pursuit of Japan’s Roki Sasaki, who ended up choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.

Several months later, the Blue Jays’ brass reinvested those resources into inking Korean pitcher Seojun Moon, the first Korean-born international signing in franchise history. The 18-year-old hurler is expected to make his professional debut sometime next season.

Recent international signings such as infielder Juan Sanchez ($997,500 signing bonus in 2025) and right-hander Silvano Hechavarria ($240,000 signing bonus in ’24) have already made waves in the organization’s pipeline, with the latter finishing last season at high-A Vancouver during his first year in North America.

Now the hope is that they can continue that promising trend with the latest crop of international free-agent signees.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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