Cleveland Guardians sign 15 international free agents

The international signing period has officially opened up, and the Guardians announced the signing of players, including two highly touted prospects.

If you’re hungry for actual baseball news during the work stoppage, this should get you going. The international signing period officially opened up yesterday, and the Cleveland Guardians announced the signing of fifteen players.

Most notably, the Guardians signed two players within MLB.com’s top 50 international prospect rankings. This includes 16-year-olds Jaison Chourio, a highly touted outfield prospect, and catcher Victor Izturis, who is the nephew of former major-leaguers Cesar and Maicer Izturis. Both players received a signing bonus of $1.2 million.

Under the international signing rules, the Guardians had $6,262,600 to spend on free agents, many of whom the organization has been talking to for years.

Chourio is the brother of Brewers shorstop/center fielder Jackson Chourio, who was one of the top international signings last year. Baseball America has him listed as their 26th prospect in the international pool (MLB.com ranked him 20th), with plus or better speed to go along with good instincts and a strong arm in the outfield. Offensively, Chourio is noted for his pitch recognition and contact skills with gap power, though there isn’t much of a consensus yet as to where he’ll ultimately project in the majors.

Izturis is ranked 41st in Baseball America’s prospect list (40th by MLB.com), with him being described as a “baseball rat” who makes frequent contact with gap power to all parts of the field.

The full list of signings by the Guardians includes:

• Jaison Chourio, OF, Venezuela
• Victor Izturis, C, Venezuela
• Yanki Batista, SS, Dominican Republic
• Yorfran John, SS, Venezuela
• Alberto Mendez, SS, Venezuela
• Nomar Velasquez, SS, Venezuela
• Moises Molero, OF, Venezuela
• Jose Cedeño, C, Venezuela
• Rafael Ramirez, SS, Dominican Republic
• Pedro Hernandez Jr., SS, Panama
• Bryan Guedez, SS, Venezuela
• Abrahan Tejeda, RHP, Dominican Republic
• Gueile Borrome, SS, Venezuela
• Jefferey Mercedes, SS, Dominican Republic
• Melkis Hernandez, LHP, Dominican Republic