Report: Diamondbacks to Sign Juan Brima

Per Jesse Borek, the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed switch-hitting shortstop Juan Brima out of the Dominican Republic for $500,000. This was reported on Day 1 of the International Amateur Free Agent Market being open for signings and business.

This class has been extremely Dominican Republic-heavy, as the vast majority of players reportedly signed by Arizona have hailed from the Caribbean island.

The Diamondbacks' bonus pool is $6,908,600. January 15 is when the International Amateur Free Agent market opens. The first player was Elian De La Cruz, a consensus top-35 player from the Dominican Republic.

The D-backs still have plenty of their bonus pool remaining to sign other international free agents or to trade for other teams' prospects.

Brima's age is not known but it is likely between 16-18 years old as the majority of International Free Agents are that age. The youngest allowed to be signed is 16 years old.

As mentioned above, Brima switch-hits and has a slick-looking swing from the left side which appears to be his power side. Multiple times on tape, he has lofted the ball hard into the air for deep distances.

The right side seems to be his contact and line-drive power side. He's laced hits with ease from that side and makes solid contact but does not seem to have quite the same amount of power as from the left side.

Both side's swings are straight to the ball and the bat stays in the zone for a long time. The offense has a chance to develop and play as he grows and develops more muscle.

He developed as a shortstop and the glove looks alright, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him move to second base in the future.

For now, he will start his career at the Dominican Republic Baseball Academy that the D-backs just built. It is the finest and newest academy in the country and in MLB.

This has yet to be confirmed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, since the market for international free agents is not yet open until January 15, so stay tuned for an article confirming this move and the other moves with players that have yet to be reported on Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI.

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