{"id":415488,"date":"2026-01-15T21:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/415488\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T21:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:46:08","slug":"d-backs-sign-ruben-gallego-to-headline-huge-international-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/415488\/","title":{"rendered":"D-backs Sign Ruben Gallego to Headline Huge International Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, MLB’s international signing period began. The Arizona Diamondbacks made a splash, reportedly signing eight players<\/a> to free agent contracts for a total of $8,034,900. Cuban shortstop Ruben Gallego inked a $1.75 million free agent deal as the headlining signee. <\/p>\n

Gallego, 17, was ranked among the top 50 international prospects available, coming in at No. 42 per MLB Pipeline and No. 9 on insider Francys Romero’s top-50 list. Gallego does not profile far off from the likes of a Geraldo Perdomo, who was also once an international free agent acquisition. <\/p>\n

Related Content: Top Diamondbacks International Free Agents in Franchise History<\/a><\/p>\n

Full scouting report on Gallego via Baseball America’s Ben Badler<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Cuban shortstop Ruben Gallego, signing for $1.75 million, has the traits to stick at shortstop. He\u2019s a smart, instinctive defender with smooth, fluid actions at the position. At 6-foot, 163 pounds, he\u2019s an
average runner with quick feet, soft hands and a quick transfer to an average arm. <\/p>\n

“Scouts were split on Gallego\u2019s pure hitting ability, with some seeing him as a defensive-oriented player and others thinking he would be a solid hitter with a line-drive approach and gap power from both sides of the plate. There\u2019s still more physical upside left in his frame, though he doesn\u2019t project to ever be a big power hitter.”<\/p>\n

D-backs Kick Off International Signing Period with 8 Players<\/p>\n

Gallego is the highest-paid (and most prominent) player on Arizona’s list. Below are the other seven:<\/p>\n

SS Leonardo Sevilla (Cuba): Another shortstop, Sevilla is 18 years old with a high level of athleticism, standing at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. He profiles as a speedy line-drive hitter with a mature approach and the tools to stick at shortstop, though he may move to second base.<\/p>\n

SS Bryan Figueroa (Dominican Republic): Figueroa is a power hitter who is still developing a contact-hitting tool. He has a massive arm and will likely move to third base.<\/p>\n

OF Loidel Amaya (Cuba): Amaya profiles as a potential corner outfielder with a power upside, but also has a solid hit tool. <\/p>\n

OF Yohendi Fernandez (Dominican Republic): Fernandez is a center fielder with plus athleticism and a more contact-hitting skillset.<\/p>\n

C Jhosep Villarroel (Venezuela): Villarroel is just 5-foot-9 and is more of a contact hitter, but has some raw power present in his bat. He’ll have a chance to stick at catcher with a solid arm. <\/p>\n

OF Joscar Hernandez (Venezuela): Hernandez is a center fielder with plus athleticism and a 6-foot-1, 163-pound frame. He profiles as more of a speed- and glove-first player while his bat develops.<\/p>\n

OF Yamir Mendieta (Panama): Check back later for updated scouting report. <\/p>\n

Arizona Diamondbacks Latest News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Thursday, MLB’s international signing period began. The Arizona Diamondbacks made a splash, reportedly signing eight players to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-415488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}