On the first day of the international signing period, the Braves made two splashes in their haul.
The Braves on Wednesday signed 16-year-old Cuban outfielder Diego Torne to a $2.5 million signing bonus, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tornes is viewed as one of the top players in this international class.
The Braves also signed hard-throwing Dominican right-hander Raudy Reyes to a $1.8 million signing bonus, according to the person with knowledge of hat agreement. Reyes, who is 16, throws a fastball that has been clocked at 101 mph.
In addition to Torne and Reyes, the Braves announced late Wednesday afternoon the signings of eight other players, including four other right-handers from the Dominican Republic: Yostin Pinales, Yangel Martinez, Lionel Prevosti and Wilmer Almonte.
The team also announced four other signees: infielders Juan Elejandro, Malvin Fernandez and Yassel Garcia and outfielder Elias Reyno, all of the Dominican Republic.
The Braves should add more signings in the coming days.
The Braves’ bonus pool – how much they can spend on international free agents this year – is $6,261,600. Signings of $10,000 or less don’t count toward that bonus pool for this international cycle, which runs through Dec. 15. (Many of the largest signings in the class usually take place on the first day of the period or shortly thereafter.)
Tornes, who is expected to be the Braves’ most expensive international signing in this cycle, continues the recent trend of the Braves bringing in top position-player international talent. Last year, the club signed shortstop Jose Perdomo, one of the better players in his class. The year before that, they brought in outfielder Luis Guanipa, a stud talent in his own class.
Perdomo is the Braves’ No. 8 prospect on MLB Pipeline. Guanipa is their No. 11 prospect. Soon, Tornes, a switch-hitter with power, could join them on that list of the organization’s top prospects.
Baseball America, a respected outlet that provides in-depth prospect coverage, projected Tornes to receive one of the largest signing bonuses in this international period. The outlet ranked international prospects based on which might receive the largest signing bonuses. Tornes ranked fifth on the board, Reyes 19th.
Of Tornes, Baseball America wrote this leading to the international signing period:
“Tornes is one of the younger players in the 2025 international class but has long stood out for his power. He’s a tall, physical switch-hitter with big bat speed from both sides of the plate who is able to drive the ball consistently for impact and projects to have plus power. Torres’ swing can cut in and out of the hitting zone too quickly at times, but he’s not a feast-or-famine hitter because it’s an accurate swing and he’s able to pick up spin early with a knack for being on time.”
Baseball America said that early in the scouting process, Tornes “looked like a left fielder who might end up at first base.” But the outlet added that he’s since improved his speed and defense. He has above-average speed and an average arm, the outlet wrote.
And as for Reyes?
He’s 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. His rise, Baseball America said, came later in the scouting process.
Now, he’s armed with an 101 mph fastball.
“It’s an overpowering fastball against hitters his age, though he will need to show more feel to manipulate his off-speed stuff and land his fastball in the strike zone more often against more advanced hitters,” the outlet wrote about Reyes.
That tidbit came after a part about how teams usually don’t give seven-figure bonuses to 16-year-old international pitchers.
Reyes, though, clearly was worth it for the Braves. Now, he enters the system as another intriguing prospect.
For a few years, the Braves dealt with restrictions on the international market because of the former regime’s wrongdoings. Since the penalties ended, the Braves have started bringing in top international talent each cycle.
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