The Atlanta Braves set a file for the richest-ever contract given to a Venezuela-born prospect as they agreed to a $5 million bonus for shortstop Jose Perdomo on the primary day of the worldwide signing interval. It was the biggest bonus given to any participant within the class.
“The Braves are including one of many purest hitters on this 12 months’s worldwide market to their group,” MLB.com reported. “Atlanta agreed to phrases with shortstop Jose Perdomo … for $5 million because the 2024 signing interval opened.”
The Braves used nearly all of their $5.284 million signing pool to safe Perdomo, a 17-year-old who ranks primary on Baseball America’s 2024 worldwide prospects bonus board. He’s broadly acclaimed for his capability to place balls in play together with notable velocity and a powerful arm on protection.
“Perdomo has extremely rated bat-to-ball abilities and a brief swing that produces a excessive contact price, and a few who’ve seen his defensive enchancment prior to now 12 months imagine he may keep at shortstop,” per The Athletic. “He doesn’t have loads of energy at this stage, however Perdomo has proven extra potential in that space with power gained since he first drew extensive discover at a 2023 showcase occasion in Florida.”
The Braves have set a league commonplace for securing, growing and locking in younger expertise, boasting a core of gamers in Austin Riley, Josh Harris, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies who can stay beneath membership management by way of the 2027 season. However their farm system now seems a bit shallow, significantly for place gamers, and the addition of Perdomo makes up for that potential weak point.
“He instantly joins a excessive tier of Braves prospects, as considered one of solely a few place participant prospects who’ve affect potential,” Garrett Spain famous for SBNation.
The large league membership must be set at shortstop for a while, with Orlando Arcia, Nicky Lopez and Ehire Adrianza all anticipated to share time there in 2024. For now, Perdomo will work on including power to his penchant for contact and proceed to develop his protection. He’ll most probably head to the Dominican Summer season League subsequent, the place followers and Braves coaches can regulate his growth.
