Blue Jays International Free Agent Scouting
- TORONTO - Of the 954 players listed on opening day rosters last year,265 of them - 27.8 per cent of the overall total - were born outside the...
- "It may not sound like a lot, but it is fairly significant," said Andrew Tinnish, vice-president, international scouting and baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays.
- The Blue Jays will be hoping to meet, if not exceed that standard with thier haul of 25 players from the recently opened 2026 international signing period, headlined...
TORONTO – Of the 954 players listed on opening day rosters last year,265 of them – 27.8 per cent of the overall total - were born outside the United States. The vast majority among them came from the Dominican Republic (100) and Venezuela (63), underscoring the importance of success in international free agency.
“It may not sound like a lot, but it is fairly significant,” said Andrew Tinnish, vice-president, international scouting and baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays. “The risk-reward is pretty large in Latin America and the one thing I’d say, if you come out of a class and you end up with an everyday big-league player from that class, just looking historically how this works and how many players make it, that’s a pretty good outcome.”
The Blue Jays will be hoping to meet, if not exceed that standard with thier haul of 25 players from the recently opened 2026 international signing period, headlined by Venezuelan catcher Juan caricote, who signed for $1.95 million. Two other players signed just before the 2025 period closed in December – Cuban right-hander Alieski Torres for $200,000 and Dutch lefty Celwin Hurkmans for $150,000, using what remained of the extra bonus pool space acquired with Myles Straw from Cleveland last winter – join that group in providing the institution with a fresh infusion of talent.
With the Blue Jays sacrificing draft picks to sign qualified free agents in consecutive winters (Anthony Santander last off-season, Dylan Cease this one), the international market becomes an even more important pathway to maintain a productive farm system.
That’s no sure thing, of course, as players in international free agency can be as young as 16, versus 18 typically in the draft, making the market especially volatile. But the “majority of the players we sign, we’re seeing some path for them getting to the big leagues and contributing,” said Tinnish. “Obviously that’s not how things shake out, but you have to have that kind of vision when you’re evaluating and recruiting these guys.”
That being said, here’s a look at some of the bigger signings the Blue Jays made with this slate of players:
Juan Caricote, C, Venezuela ($1.95 million)
The 17-year-old is described by Tinnish as an “athletic, twitchy, strong left-handed hitting catcher. there are at times some bigger moves in the swing, but he has a whippy bat and has a pretty good idea at the plate. There’s a chance for real power.There’s a chance to be a good defender back there. He needs work. It’s going to take time. He is still learning the finer points,and we were talking about this the other day where balls that are just in the
Baseball Prospect Evaluation
Table of Contents
An unnamed baseball prospect,a left-handed player estimated to be between 6-foot-7,is currently undergoing training,with evaluation ongoing as of late 2023/early 2024. The assessment acknowledges challenges due to limited hands-on observation but notes positive aspects of his training environment.
harry Einbinder and player Assessment
Harry Einbinder, the assistant director overseeing Europe for the organization, has been involved in evaluating the player.Major League Baseball (MLB) personnel noted Einbinder’s age as 83 in the spring of 2023, but a subsequent assessment in November 2023 indicated he was 89 years old. Einbinder’s observations contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the prospect’s potential.
Physical Attributes and Potential
The player is described as left-handed, standing between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7, and demonstrating reasonable mobility for his size. The evaluation team recognizes the inherent difficulties in assessing a player remotely, but remains optimistic due to the quality of his training regimen. As of november 2023, the player was continuing to train with qualified coaches.
Evaluation Timeline and Challenges
The evaluation process began in the spring of 2023 and continued through November 2023. the primary challenge identified is the lack of direct, hands-on observation of the player’s skills. Despite this, the assessment team believes the player is “in a good spot” and benefiting from professional training. No further updates to this evaluation were publicly available as of January 27,2026.