The A’s are among the teams that have established a presence on the international market, a trend that continued on Saturday, the first day of the international signing period.
Oakland, which has a signing pool of $5,179,700, signed seven players to start the period, including a $1.2 million deal with outfielder Carlos Pacheco of Venezuela. In all, five of the first seven signed by the club were from Venezuela.
In addition to Pacheco, other signees from Venezuela include catcher Cesar Gonzalez ($800,000), shortstop Bryan Andrade ($525,000), right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Saa ($200,000), and left-handed pitcher Derek Coro ($200,000). The club also signed first baseman Kevin Dume ($600,000) and right-handed pitcher Manuel Perez ($160,000) of the Dominican Republic.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association finalized a deal in March 2020 that addressed the international signing period during the pandemic. The 2022 international signing period runs through Dec. 15, 2022, the second year in a row the period, which previously began July 2, started in January.
The current rules also state that teams are not allowed to trade any of their international pool money. Signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count toward a club's bonus pool, and foreign professional players who are at least 25 years of age and have played in a foreign league for at least six seasons are also exempt.
Here are the prospects who have agreed to deals with the A's in the 2022 international signing period:
Carlos Pacheco, CF, Venezuela -- $1,200,000
Cesar Gonzalez, C, Venezuela -- $800,000
Kevin Dume, 1B, Dominican Republic -- $600,000
Bryan Andrade, SS, Venezuela -- $525,000
Reynaldo Saa, RHS, Venezuela -- $200,000
Derek Corro, LHS, Venezuela -- $200,000
Manuel Perez, RHS, Dominican Republic -- $160,000