The 2024 international signing period is just around the corner, with teams able to sign players beginning Monday, January 15, and running until December 15. According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Philadelphia Phillies have $4,652,200 in their signing pool after forfeiting $1 million to sign Trea Turner last offseason.
Before the new signing period begins, let’s take a look back at the Phillies’ recent top international signings and see where they stand in the system.
Yhoswar Garcia, 2020.
After signing for $2.5 million in 2020, Yhoswar Garcia faced visa and injury issues, including a broken leg in 2022. Coming into 2023, he hadn’t gotten enough reps to figure things out at the plate. Before the season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs stated that Garcia appeared lost at the plate.
At least Garcia did something in 2023, albeit not much. He slashed.In 35 Florida Complex League games, he batted 235/.300/.324, with one home run, 22 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. Despite his speed, Garcia will need to improve his ground ball rate, which was 55.1 percent last year.
The Venezuela native was one of the top signings in his class and possesses tools such as plus-plus speed and above-average outfield defense; all he needs to do now is develop those skills and hope his bat catches up.
Yemal Flores, 2021.
The Phillies signed outfielder Yemal Flores for $1.3 million in 2021, making him their top signing. Unfortunately, the Dominican-born Flores has been unable to put it together since signing. He struggled to hit in the DSL in 2021, with a.171 average and a.623 OPS across 37 games. In 2022, he struggled in the Florida Complex League, hitting.160 with a
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