Wednesday marks the open of MLB’s 2025 international signing period, one of two ways major-league teams acquire amateur talent each year. The annual July draft covers players born in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Players from everywhere else in the world fall into international free agency.
Roughly 30% of current MLB players were originally signed as international free agents. That group includes megastars like Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani, José Ramírez, and Juan Soto. Perennial contenders like the Dodgers and Yankees, teams that typically pick late in the draft, use international free agency to add high-end prospects to their farm system.
Future All-Stars will be signed during the international free agency window. Maybe even a future Cy Young winner or MVP. Heck, someone who signs Wednesday could one day find himself in Cooperstown. Here’s everything you need to know going into the open of the 2025 international signing period.
Format
International free agency remains free agency because MLB and the MLB Players Association did not agree to an international draft during collective bargaining agreement talks in 2022. MLB has pushed for an international draft for years (decades, really), but the union has resisted because it would strip players of the freedom to pick their team, not to mention limit their earning potential. The current international free agency system will remain through at least 2026, when the CBA expires.
The international signing period used to run from July 2 to June 25, but the start of the 2020-21 signing period was pushed back to Jan. 15 because of the pandemic, and that change was later made permanent. The signing period is now neatly confined to a single calendar year, and runs from Jan. 15 to Dec. 15. To be eligible to sign, players must be at least 16 years old and turn 17 by Sept. 1 of the following year. This year’s newly eligible players were born between Sept. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008.
Bonus pools
International bonus pools, the money teams can spend on players, are tied to revenue and market size. Generally speaking, small-market teams get the biggest bonus pools and large-market teams get the smallest. There are bonus pool penalties for signing major-league free agents who declined the qualifying offer, and teams can trade for an additional 60% of their original bonus pool. The bonus pools are a hard cap. You cannot spend more than you’re allotted.
Here are the bonus pools for the 2025 international signing period (via the Associated Press):
- $7,555,500: Athletics, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers, Twins
- $6,908,600: Diamondbacks, Guardians, Orioles, Pirates, Rockies, Royals
- $6,261,600: Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees
- $5,646,200: Astros, Cardinals
- $5,146,200: Dodgers, Giants
The Astros (Josh Hader) and Cardinals (Sonny Gray) both forfeited $500,000 of international bonus pool money for signing a qualified free agent during the 2023-24 offseason. The Giants were hit with matching $500,000 penalties for Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. The Dodgers forfeited $1 million in pool money for Ohtani because of their competitive balance tax status.
Bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count against the bonus pool. Players who get bonuses that small usually aren’t great prospects, though every so often one breaks through and reaches the big leagues. Houston signed both Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez to $10,000 bonuses as amateurs, for example. The Tigers signed Eugenio Suárez for $10,000 way back in the day.
International players younger than 25 can sign minor-league contracts only. Teams cannot entice these players by offering to put them on the 40-man roster. Because he was posted at age 25, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not subject to the international bonus pools last offseason and was free to sign his record $325 million contract.
The Sasaki situation
Star Japanese righty Roki Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in December and, because he is only 23, he falls under the international amateur free agency umbrella. He can’t sign a Yamamoto contract. Sasaki will be able to sign starting on Jan. 15, and his 45-day window closes on Jan. 23, based on when he was posted. That means he has eight days to pick a team and, thanks to the bonus pools, the financial playing field is basically level. Teams can’t keep adding dollars to their offer until Sasaki says yes.
“Given that the gap in bonus pool amounts is so negligible, my advice to him is don’t make decisions based on that,” Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said at the Winter Meetings last month. “The long-term arc of your career is where you’re going to earn your money, so it’s probably not advisable to make a short-term decision in that regard. Take all the factors into consideration.”
Why is Sasaki coming over now rather than waiting two years until he turns 25, and can sign a contract of any size? Beats me.
It is unclear if anyone other than Sasaki and his inner circle knows the answer to that question. Our R.J. Anderson has ranked Sasaki as the seventh-best free agent available this offseason. Here is the overview:
Sasaki is considered the most talented pitcher not currently affiliated with an MLB team. He gained global recognition after throwing a 19-strikeout perfect game at the age of 20 in 2022. Known for his exceptional velocity and a devastating splitter/forkball, Sasaki has been limited by injuries, making only 33 starts over the past two seasons. His earning potential is restricted due to his status as an amateur free agent. However, a fully healthy Sasaki has the potential to make an immediate impact as a starting pitcher in the major leagues.
Reportedly, Sasaki has narrowed down his choices to three preferred teams – the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays. The team that signs Sasaki will be required to pay the Chiba Lotte Marines a posting fee, which is a modest 25% of his signing bonus. This fee is significantly lower than what the Dodgers paid for Yamamoto. Despite this, Chiba Lotte is not pleased about Sasaki’s departure.
There is a possibility that a team may offer Sasaki their entire bonus pool, including the additional 60% that can be traded, resulting in them having to break any existing agreements. While teams occasionally back out of agreements for various reasons, reneging on an entire international signing class would be unprecedented. Sasaki’s signing could potentially complicate matters for other international free agents in the coming months.
In addition to Sasaki, there are several other notable international prospects in this year’s signing period. These include Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, a switch-hitting shortstop from the Dominican Republic with impressive offensive and defensive skills, and Kevin DeFrank, a Dominican pitcher with a solid fastball and changeup. Other prospects include Elian Peña, Cris Rodriguez, and Andrew Salas, each bringing their own unique talents to the table. sentence: It is important to always stay hydrated during exercise.
Staying hydrated during exercise is crucial.