BREAKING: Elian Peña, 17-year-old Dominican shortstop, signs with Mets for $5 million bonus

Mets finalize $5 million deal with 17-year-old Elian Pena

NEW YORK (AP) – Elian Peña, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic who turned 17 in October, agreed to a $5 million bonus with the New York Mets on Wednesday that was the largest amount on the first day of the 2025 international signing period.

Peña was rated the No. 3 prospect in the international class for this year by MLB.com behind Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who must agree to a deal by Jan. 23, and Dominican shortstop Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez, who agreed with the San Francisco Giants at $2,997,500.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, all hoping to sign Sasaki, did not finalize any contracts with bonuses of more than $10,000, which count against their signing bonus pools. Just half of the 30 teams finalized deals of more than $10,000 in the opening hours of the signing period.

“It just created uncertainty for teams and certainly created uncertainty for some players,” Detroit Tigers assistant general manager Rob Metzler said. “Certainly the 2025 signing period has had more uncertainty than others.”

Dominican outfielder Cris Rodriguez, ranked fourth, signed with Detroit for $3,197,500, and Andrew Salas, a shortstop and outfielder ranked fifth, signed with Miami for $3.7 million. Salas was born in the U.S. and moved to Venezuela.

Hoping to become a two-way player just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii made the rare decision to bypass Japanese professional baseball entirely and agreed with the Athletics at $1,510,500.

Other agreements included Dominican infielder Johan De Los Santos and Pittsburgh ($2.25 million), Venezuelan catcher Gabriel Davalillo and the Los Angeles Angels ($2 million), Venezuelan infielder Brayan Cortesia and Washington ($1.92 million), Dominican infielder Darell Morel and Pittsburgh ($1,778,600), Venezuelan infielder Santiago Leon and Minnesota ($1,697,500), Dominican outfielder Maykel Coret and Tampa Bay ($1.6 million), Venezuelan outfielder Breyson Guedez and the Athletics ($1.5 million), Dominican outfielder Elian De La Cruz and Arizona ($1.1 million), Dominican shortstop Christopher Acosta and Milwaukee ($1.1 million), Dominican infielder Raymer Medina and Tampa Bay ($1.1 million), Venezuelan catcher Daniel Hernandez and Washington ($1.1 million) and Dominican infielder Warel Solano and Tampa Bay ($1.05 million).

Players born from Sept. 1, 2007, through Aug. 31, 2008, are eligible to sign during this year´s period, which ends Dec. 15. Teams have signing bonus pools ranging from about $5.1 million to $7.6 million.

Australian right-hander Robinson Smith signed with Pittsburgh for $400,000 and Italian right-hander Filippo Sabatini with Philadelphia for $80,000. Ugandan infielder Armstrong Muhoozi agreed with Pittsburgh for $40,000.

Related Posts

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Braves Rumors Heat Up as Atlanta Is Urged to Sign Chris Bassitt After Spencer Schwellenbach’s Injury – Could This Unexpected Target Be the Piece That Changes Their Rotation Forever? Fans Are Already Buzzing with Wild Predictions About What’s Coming Next… 👇👇👇

Braves Rumors: Atlanta Urged to Sign Chris Bassitt After Spencer Schwellenbach’s Injury The Atlanta Braves are no strangers to adversity, and with Spring Training just beginning, they…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Caleb Durbin Says He Models His Game After This Red Sox Legend – Could This Connection Be the Key to His Breakout Season in Boston? Fans Are Already Drawing Parallels and Dreaming of What’s to Come… 👇👇👇

Caleb Durbin Says He Models Game After This Red Sox Legend New Boston Red Sox infielder Caleb Durbin has made a name for himself as one of…

🚨 BOMBSHELL: MLB Mock Trade Sees Yankees Land Superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. From Padres – Can This Blockbuster Deal Propel New York Back to Glory, or Is This Just Another Risky Gamble? Fans Are Going Wild Over the Possibilities… 👇👇👇

MLB Mock Trade: Yankees Land Superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. From Padres With MLB spring training just around the corner and the regular season quickly approaching, teams are…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Ten Years After Winning the World Series, Cubs Enter 2026 with Similar Expectations – Can They Reclaim the Throne or Will the Weight of the Past Hold Them Back? Fans Are Hopeful, but the Pressure Is On… 👇👇👇

Ten Years After Winning the World Series, Cubs Enter 2026 with Similar Expectations The Chicago Cubs are entering the 2026 MLB season with the same elite expectations…

🚨 REPORT: New Packers Quarterbacks Coach Helped Aaron Rodgers Win Two MVPs – Can His Magic Work Again and Elevate Green Bay’s New QB to Superstar Status? Fans Are Eager to See If He Can Deliver Another Legendary Season… 👇👇👇

New Packers Quarterbacks Coach Helped Aaron Rodgers Win Two MVPs The Green Bay Packers have made a significant move to continue the development of their quarterbacks by…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: White Sox Open Camp at Camelback Ranch as Pitchers and Catchers Arrive – Is This the Start of a Season Full of Surprises for Chicago? Fans Are Eager to See What This New Beginning Will Bring… 👇👇👇

White Sox Open Camp at Camelback Ranch as Pitchers and Catchers Arrive Baseball is back, sort of! With the arrival of pitchers and catchers to Camelback Ranch…