The Pittsburgh Pirates have made their first signing of the July 2nd international signing period, inking a deal with 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Yondry Contreras for a $400k bonus. He is 6’1″, 175 pounds, bats and throws righty.
Here is video of Contreras throwing and hitting. It shows up about a minute into the clip.
In our July 2nd preview, Contreras was the top name mentioned for the Pirates, so their got their biggest known target. Ben Badler from Baseball America described Contreras as an athletic player, with a strong arm and good speed. He also has a quick swing, but lacks plate patience. At his age, that is still something that can be taught, but it was the reason some scouts weren’t high on him. Pirates have had a recent history of finding good young international players that weren’t universally liked by scouts, so this could be another diamond in the rough.
You can find our 2014 international signing tracker here to keep up on all of the Pirates’ signings throughout the year.
