Pair of 5-tool OFs among Mets int’l signings

The Mets stocked their Minor League system with 21 international prospects, including a pair of notable young outfielders.

New York on Saturday announced it had signed outfielder Simon Juan, who ranks No. 16 on MLB.com’s Top 50 International Prospects list, as well as outfielder Willy Fañas, right-hander Ernesto Mercedes and shortstop Jesus Baez.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but according to industry sources, Juan signed for $1.9 million, Fañas for $1.5 million and Baez for $275,000. The club also signed shortstop Dangelo Sarmiento ($700,000) and outfielder Jefrey Rosa ($100,000).

The Mets have a base signing pool of $5,179,700.

“It’s an exciting day for the New York Mets to congratulate and welcome these talented young men to our organization,” said vice president of amateur and international scouting Tommy Tanous. “This is the first step in realizing their dreams of becoming Major Leaguers. I want to thank everyone from the family of the players to our incredible scouting staff for their hard work in this process.”

Juan has five-tool potential and a chance to be a special player if he continues to grow and develop at a normal pace. How Juan develops as he matures is to be determined, but he has a chance to have multiple above-average tools.

Juan's power is already noteworthy, and he appears to have all of the skills to stay in center field as he makes his way through the Minor Leagues.

Juan is also getting Major League instruction as he trains with former big leaguer Rafael Furcal, a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program, in the Dominican Republic.

Fañas, a switch-hitter from San Francisco de Macoris, D.R., has a chance to hit for average and for power. He also has five-tool potential and already shows an advanced approach at the plate.

“Today is another step in establishing and achieving sustained success,” said general manager Billy Eppler. “We are excited for these players to get started on their path to Queens. We also want to thank Tommy, Steve Barningham, and our entire international scouting department as well as everyone in the baseball operations department who worked tirelessly to make this day possible.”

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association finalized a deal in March 2020 that addressed the international signing period during the pandemic. The 2022 international signing period runs through Dec. 15, 2022, the second year in a row the period, which previously began July 2, started in January.

The current rules also state that teams are not allowed to trade any of their international pool money. Signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count toward a club's bonus pool, and foreign professional players who are at least 25 years of age and have played in a foreign league for at least six seasons are also exempt.

Here are the prospects who have agreed to deals with the Mets in the 2022 international signing period:

Simon Juan, OF, Dominican Republic -- $1,900,000
Willy Fanas, CF, Dominican Republic -- $1,500,000
Dangelo Sarmiento, SS, Venezuela -- $700,000
Jesus Baez, SS, Dominican Republic -- $275,000
Yonatan Henriquez, SS, Dominican Republic -- $104,000
Jeffry Rosa, OF, Dominican Republic -- $100,000
Orangel Rodriguez, C, Venezuela -- $90,000
Wilson Esterlin, RHS, Dominican Republic -- $75,000
Wellington Aracena, RHS, Dominican Republic -- $70,000
Omar Victorino, RHS, Dominican Republic -- $50,000
Ernesto Mercedes, RHS, Dominican Republic -- $30,000
Jeisel Vargas, SS, Dominican Republic -- $30,000
Johan Villegas, LHS, Venezuela -- $25,000
Daniel Silva, C, Venezuela -- $25,000
Francisco Toledo, C, Venezuela -- $10,000
Frelianderson Seijas, RHS, Venezuela -- $10,000
Jose Chirinos, RHS, Venezuela -- $10,000
Cesar Rivera, LHS, Panama -- $10,000
Franklin Gomez, LHS, Venezuela -- $10,000
Juan Oramas, RHS, Venezuela -- $10,000
Jose Sequera, RHS, Venezuela -- $10,000