White Sox snag top backstop prospect among 2026 international signings

The White Sox found themselves with a considerable windfall of talent at the catching position after acquiring former Top 100 prospects Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel in the span of five months via two high-profile trades.

As the 2026 international signing period opens, they’re adding even more.

Chicago has agreed to a deal with Fernando Graterol, the top-ranked catching prospect in this year’s international class. Ranked No. 31 overall, the right-handed-hitting backstop has big-time raw power, and at 6-foot-1, he has a loose, athletic frame and plenty of physical projection still to come.

Graterol shares a hometown -- Valencia, Venezuela -- with current White Sox infielder Lenyn Sosa, who joined the organization as part of its 2016 international signing class.

Chicago received $6,679,200 in pool money this year, and Graterol is expected to be their highest-profile signee. But the club is also high on fellow Venezuelan Sebastián Romero, a left-handed-hitting outfielder from Los Teques.

Equipped with a projectable 6-foot-2 frame, Romero has the prototypical smooth left-handed stroke that portends to future impact in the box. There’s real optimism that he can stick in center field in the long run, although moving to a corner if his body continues to fill out -- thereby aiding him in the extra-base pop department -- would be far from an undesirable outcome.

Something of a late bloomer, shortstop Félix Lebron is one of the club’s most buzzworthy additions. Working with loads of athleticism, Lebron displays many of the same traits that Cincinnati’s Noelvi Marte did as an amateur, including a picturesque right-handed swing and top-tier bat speed.

Much like Marte has, Lebron figures to outgrow shortstop as he matures. Seen as an above-average runner who could have a plus arm in time, third base would be a natural fit, with one evaluator going as far to say that he believes the Sox could have found their long-term solution at the hot corner.

The White Sox continued to tap into the catching market with the addition of Ronald Cardoso, who displays precocious defensive actions. Also a native of Venezuela, he has legitimate plus raw power coiled up in his right-handed swing, which he has routinely put on display during game action.

Chicago has an illustrious track record on the recent international scene. It has twice landed the No. 1 overall prospect (three times if you count Yoelqui Céspedes in both 2019 and ‘21) and secured a top-five talent in three other cycles since 2012. But as anyone in the international space will tell you, projecting the big league success of teenagers is difficult work. There are times that it comes together -- like with Luis Robert Jr. and Sosa -- and times it does not -- Micker Adolfo (No. 2 in 2013), Norge Vera (No. 5 in 2019) and Oscar Colás (No. 5 in 2022).

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Ultimately, it comes down to a simple truism: acquiring as many good players as possible is a net positive for an organization, particularly one in the process of establishing its future building blocks. So while this year’s international group is years off from impacting baseball on the South Side, there’s considerable optimism that a handful will one day get there.

And it’s not always the players that the organization signs right out of the gates. The White Sox Top 30 Prospects list currently features eight players (No. 12 William Bergolla, No. 17 Jairo Iriarte, No. 19 Jeral Perez, No. 21 Alexander Alberto, No. 23 Alexander Albertus, No. 25 Juan Carela, No. 27 Aldrin Batista, No. 29 Samuel Zavala) who were signed by other clubs before being acquired in separate trades. There are large signing bonuses and ones as small as $10,000, a reminder that big league contributors can come from anywhere.

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.

That means players born between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.