MIAMI -- The Marlins had been considered favorites to land one of the top shortstop prospects in the Dominican Republic, and on Sunday they officially secured the services of Ynmanol Marinez, ranked No. 12 on MLBPipeline.com Top 30 International Prospects list.
Marinez, 16, is Miami's big catch on the first day of the international signing period. But the club had a busy day, also signing Venezuelan shortstop Julio Machado.
The Marlins announced the signings of 13 international prospects, including Marinez and Machado. According to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez, Marinez signed for $1.5 million.
• Complete breakdown of where Top 30 international prospects landed
Also signing: catcher Jonathan Chinchilla and right-handers Jean Carlos Flores and Zaquil Puente from Venezuela; and catcher Jhonaiker Osor from Panama.
Marinez headlines the list of players from the Dominican Republic, and he's joined by shortstop Elvis Osoria, and outfielders Adonis Giron, Anthony Felipe and Jandel Paulino, along with right-handers Delvis Alegre, Yeuris Jimenez and Josan Mendez.
The Marlins have enjoyed success in the past with their international signings.
Left fielder Marcell Ozuna and right-hander Jose Urena were signed by the Marlins as teenagers from the Dominican Republic. Among their most famous international signings are Jose Cabrera, Livan Hernandez and Edgar Renteria.
Albert Gonzalez is Miami's director of international operations.
Sunday launched the international signing period, and the Marlins made one of their biggest splashes in years.
Under MLB rules, an international player is eligible to sign with a big league club between July 2 and June 15 of the following year if he is 17 or will turn 17 by the end of the first season of his contract.
The rules for signing international prospects have changed under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. According to the CBA, every team gets at least $4.75 million to spend on international prospects. Any team receiving a Competitive Balance Round A pick in the Draft gets $5.25 million.
The Marlins did have such a pick in the June MLB Draft, meaning they have up to $5.25 million to spend internationally.
The Marlins used that pick -- which was 36th overall -- on outfielder Brian Miller from the University of North Carolina. Miller recently signed and is currently playing at Class A Greensboro.
Also, as part of the new rules, a club can trade as much of its international pool money as it wants -- but is limited to 75 percent of the initial pool.