Elian Soto joins Nationals as international signing period opens
While the biggest name in the Washington Nationals’ 2023 international signing class is Elian Soto — yes, Juan’s younger brother — the club also officially added a handful of higher-ranked players Sunday. Now in the fold for Washington are outfielder Andy Acevedo ($1.3 million bonus), shortstop Edwin Solano ($1.3 million) and outfielder Juan Obispo ($600,000), with the terms according to two people familiar with their deals.
Soto, a 17-year-old outfielder, signed for $225,000 plus a $200,000 scholarship, according to a person with knowledge of the terms. A year ago, when his big brother’s future with the Nationals remained in the balance, Elian flipped his commitment to the New York Mets before returning to his original plan. Elian was a regular presence during Juan’s time in Washington and now has a chance to chart his own path through the team’s system.
Here’s the Nationals’ full 2023 class, announced by the team after the signing period opened Sunday (although most deals are hashed out well before the period technically begins): Acevedo (17 years old, Dominican Republic), outfielder Carlos Batista (17, D.R.), Cabrera (16, D.R.), right-hander Jose Feliz (17, D.R.), infielder Eikel Joaquin (17, D.R.), outfielder Hector Liriano (16, D.R.), catcher Agustin Marcano (16, Colombia), Obispo (16, D.R.), right-hander Leuris Portorreal (17, D.R.), left-hander Juan Reyes (17, Panama), right-hander Enyerber Riveo (17, Venezuela), Solano (16, D.R.), Soto (17, D.R.) and outfielder Carlos Tavares (17, D.R.).
The Nationals have not committed their full bonus pool of $5,284,000. And even if they keep adding in the coming months, this year’s strategy is a break from their typical approach under assistant general manager Johnny DiPuglia, who runs their operation in Latin America.
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Since the Nationals signed Juan Soto for $1.5 million in 2015, they had chased high-bonus guys whenever possible, often front-loading money to a few players while taking low-cost swings with the rest. Last January, they used most of their spending pool to land Cuban outfielder Cristhian Vaquero with a club record $4.925 million bonus. The only outlying recent years, until now, were because of aggressive spending in 2016, when they had a $2.335 million pool yet gave more than $5 million to 19 players. As a penalty for exceeding their pool that summer, they were not allowed to sign any player for more than $300,000 in the next two periods.
But now, with ownership generally spending less amid a potential sale, the Nationals divvied a reduced sum to their biggest class since 2019 (four more players than each of the past two years). The team’s estimated spending, topped by the bonuses for Solano and Acevedo, is less than what Vaquero was given last winter. The overall footprint is smaller than usual, both because the Nationals didn’t land a marquee player or take notably more chances in a volatile market.
The Baltimore Orioles, by contrast, signed 27 players and maxed out with a $2.3 million bonus to shortstop Luis Almeyda. Catcher Ethan Salas, the top-ranked player, signed with the San Diego Padres for a reported record bonus of $5.6 million. Cabrera ranked 39th in the class, per MLB Pipeline, while Acevedo was 45th and Solano was 46th.
In hindsight, Washington’s 2016 strategy showed the risk of spending big on one player and the possible benefits of dividing money among a larger group. It is hard to predict a 16-year-old’s future, no matter how much you scout him. That’s a sound argument for casting a wide net, the size of which is typically dictated by ownership’s investment in the process.
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Yasel Antuna, who signed for $3.9 million as the top player in the 2016 class, has not advanced beyond Class AA and was designated for assignment this offseason. After slipping through waivers, he remained with the organization. But four other players from that year — infielder Luis García ($1.3 million), outfielder Yadiel Hernandez (signed as a 29-year-old Cuban defector), catcher Israel Pineda and right-hander Joan Adon — have made the majors. García is part of the team’s long-term plans, and Pineda and Adon still have a chance to join him.
Here are the players to sign with the Nationals for more than $1 million with DiPuglia in charge:
2023 — Outfielder Andy Acevedo and shortstop Edwin Solano for $1.3 million each
2022 — Outfielder Cristhian Vaquero (Cuba) for a club record $4,925,000
2o20-21 — Shortstop Armando Cruz (Dominican Republic) for $3.9 million
2019 — Right-hander Andry Lara (Dominican Republic) for $1.25 million
2016 — Infielder Yasel Antuna (Dominican Republic) for $3.9 million; infielder Luis García for $1.3 million
2015 — Outfielder Juan Soto (Dominican Republic) for $1.5 million
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