International scouting has evolved over the years in Major League Baseball. Thankfully so.
Imagine never being able to watch Vladimir Guerrero, Elly De La Cruz, and soon, Roki Sasaki. We would be robbed of the astronomical numbers, entertainment factors, and free agency frenzy.
Vladdy’s tryout alone was historical. He was just 18 years old when he showed up to his tryouts with mismatched shoes and an impressive 60-yard dash in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It was a $2,500 transaction to sign the eventual Hall of Famer who could swing on a bounce.
MLB staffs make sure to have scouts outside of the US for more eyes on talent and player acquisition.
That low amount of money offered and accepted by Guerrero didn’t necessarily change over the years, either.
“Some of those old guys signed for peanuts, and I think the reason is because not everybody was competing in Latin America,” one high-ranking National League executive told MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez in 2018.
Fast-forward to when the Cincinnati Reds discovered a very skinny Elly De La Cruz (in a very unique way) and signed him for only $65,000 nobody else was bidding for him.
Beyond the scouting, the international market itself made a mark on the sport bringing more talent to the sport. Two-way player Shohei Ohtani is the biggest name in the game.
When Ohtani and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers faced Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the 2024 National League Division Series, it drew a 19.2 rating in Japan, which translates to around 12.9 million average viewers. It became Japan’s most-watched Major League Baseball playoff game ever, according to The Athletic.
Asia and Latin America are different, however. You’ll see a surge of signings from Latin America while seeing little to none coming out of Asia for years at a time.
In Asia, they tend to sign with a particular need in mind.
Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan is a high-quality professional baseball league with plenty of MLB-level talent. The entertainment factor might even be better than in the states.
The developmental factor in Latin America is prominent.
The most notable free agent this winter, Juan Soto, who attended the same academy as De La Cruz, was curious about the New York Yankees’ farm system. Especially with a long, lucrative contract. There’s value in development with these schools and the players they produce. Despite what some of the players look like at a young age, scouts can sense something or see something that numbers just can’t. Face time is important.
There were talks of having an international draft in the future, but the league and the MLB Player’s Association haven’t agreed to it. The current international free agency system will remain until at least 2026 with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
