After doling out a pair of million-dollar bonuses to international amateurs in both 2017 and 2018, the Mets signed one such player when the 2019-20 period opened on Tuesday. 16-year-old Alexander Ramirez, the 26th-best available player, earned $2.05 million from the team, according to reports.
The Mets did not spend more than $375 thousand on any other signees on day one, however. Rafael Perez, the organization’s new director of international operations, told the New York Post in March that the focus going forward will likely be shifting to quantity over quality.
“This is a game of numbers, so I’d rather sign 25 guys than 10 guys and in the international market you can always find some jewels, some late bloomers,’’ Perez said.
Other players signed on Wednesday, according to Baseball America: right-handed pitchers Jose Dominguez, Alexander Lopez, and Juan Pacheco, left-handed pitcher Fraudy Vizcaino, infielders Victor Gonzalez and Junior Tilien, and outfielders Jostin Almonte and Yeral Martinez.
It will likely take years to appropriately judge if such a strategy was the right one. While not as aggressive as the Yankees, who nabbed Jasson Dominguez, the top available player, for $5.1 million, or as passive as the pre-2019 Orioles, who blatantly refused to sign international amateurs for more than the $10,000 threshold, it does appear to be a high-risk hit-or-miss philosophy.
The Mets have successfully brought in top-of-the-class players such as Ronny Mauricio and Andres Gimenez, but will likely be focusing on second-tier talents and low-six-figure signings from here on out.
