As of Thursday, 15 January 2026, Major League Baseball teams were allowed to sign young talent. The rules are very simple: the person must be 16 years of age at signing and reach 17 years of age by the following 1st of September and registered with Major League Baseball (MLB) by 1 November. There are also requirements regarding the proper identification, education and training history of the prospect. The deals are not final until the player selected and signed passes a team physical exam.
All that said, last Thursday was a bonanza for young Dominican talent. According to MLB Pipeline, Wandy Asigen, from Monte Llano in Puerto Plata was the second-highest player signed at US$3.8 million. Previously, Asigen had an oral agreement with the New York Yankees, but when the international player director left the Yankees, the NY Mets entered the picture.
Another Dominican talent that was listed as Top 10 in big contracts was the son of former pitcher Jesus Colome from San Pedro de Macoris, who reportedly signed for US$4.0 million from the Oakland Athletics. He was joined by the nephew of Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero, Wilton Guerrero Jr., who was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates for US$1.95 million.
The really impressive news is that of the Top 50 players signed, there were 34 Dominican. There were 53 seven-digit contracts and 44 contracts of between US$500,000 and US$900,000.
The total amount that MLB teams set forth to sign Dominican talent amounted to US$55,149,000 (Or RD$3.5 billion).
Also interesting, it the fact that a lot of the last name have recognition since Rijo (US$2.2 million), Fermin (US$2.1 million), and Horton (US$2.0 million) are names well-recognized in Dominican sports circles.
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Listin Diario
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El Caribe
19 January 2026