Two Astros International Interests Likely Signing Elsewhere

Two of the Astros’ international signing interests are likely inking with other major-league clubs.

The Houston Astros have been a leader in signing talented international prospects to large and small signing bonuses over the last decade. They’ve made splashes recently with players like Yuli Gurriel, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and many more within the system.

This Saturday, Jan. 15, the 2022 International Signing Period opens with the Astros expected to sign four prospects. In the last year, reported interest has sparked for other players within the pool of possible signees.

Two of those, infielder Cesar Prieto and catcher Maikel Minoso, are signing elsewhere this weekend. Both were reportedly in talks with Houston this past summer by journalist, Francys Romero.

Romero projects Prieto to sign with the Baltimore Orioles, while Minoso will likely sign with the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2022 signing period.

What does the Astros current international signing period look like?

The Astros have four players reportedly signing this weekend, while their bonus slot sits at $5,179,700.

• RHP Carlos Espinosa: $450K
• SS Alberto Hernandez: $1 million
• OF Kenni Gomez: $650-900K (MLB Pipeline)
• OF Luis Baez: $1.25 million

This accumulates to a range of $3.35 million – $3.6 million spent for 2022. Teams have all year to spend their international signing money on who they see fit for the organization, while funds can be traded or go unused.

The Astros will add more names to this list on Saturday, as more underreported signings become official. Gomez is the Astros only projected signing within MLB Pipeline’s top 50 international prospect ranking. But with most of these players not making an impact for an average of five years, don’t worry about the names that haven’t gained traction.

A similar piece was posted back in September of 2021.