Minnesota was never going to be a real player in the Roki Sasaski sweepstakes, but their front office took advantage of Sasaki’s delayed decision by swooping in on another top-50 international prospect who planned to sign for the Dodgers but wasn’t willing to wait for LA, while they wait for Sasaki.

Minnesota Twins international free agents are piling up

We won’t know for sure until a decade from now, but when the dust settled on day one of MLB international free agency, new Twins president Derek Falvey and his small army of international scouts have to feel good about their haul of 17 international free agents… even if they won’t see the payoff for years to come.

So, without further ado, here is the entire list of Minnesota Twins international free agents for 2025 (per Baseball America). If more are added today, or in the future, this list will be updated.

Minnesota Twins signings today to start the 2025 signing period.

A breakdown of the players in the Twins class: https://t.co/uA9gWvhA7C pic.twitter.com/PRPoxjZBbS

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) January 15, 2025

Minnesota’s international bonus pool was the largest of any team in the big leagues, at $7,555,500, money the Twins are able to allocate across their international free agent signings, at their own discretion.

Leon (24th ranked), a shortstop from Venezuela, generated the largest bonus at $1,697,500. Taveras (26th), should land a bonus above $1 million. Castillo (43rd) signed for $947,500 and Serrano (50th) is reported to have gotten around $1 million.

Related: Minnesota Twins Steal Top-50 International Prospect From Dodgers

What to know about the Twins new international prospects

Last season Minnesota signed just two top 50 international prospects in the form of Daiber De Los Santos and Eduardo Beltre. Each debuted in the organization this year for the Dominican Summer League team. That is also where this crop should be expected to head.

With four top 50 prospects in their class, the Twins did well to bring in talent. None rank quite as highly as De Los Santos (9th) in 2024, but the group shows quality and quantity as a whole.

Santiago Leon, SS

The top of the class is represented by Santiago Leon. His father, Jose, previously worked as a scout for Minnesota. Power is the carrying tool here, and he does have a chance to stick at shortstop. Even if he moves to third base, his arm strength should play enough to be dangerous.

Santiago Leon, one of the top shortstops in Venezuela, signs with the Minnesota Twinshttps://t.co/aCRAKA5LSP pic.twitter.com/yGDHcliIKT

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) January 15, 2025

Carlos Taveras, OF

At just 16 years old, Taveras is already six foot and 185 pounds. He is an above-average runner, but not necessarily a burner. Right now there is hope he can stick in centerfield, but the totality of tools make him dangerous if things click even after moving to a corner.

Haritzon Castillo, SS

One of eight prospects to sign with Minnesota from Venezuella, Castillo joins Leon among the top 50 grouping. Castillo is a switch-hitting infielder that stands six feet tall. There isn’t a significant ceiling to drew on here, but the bat plays well already and he has a set of tools that should set him up for success as he progresses.

Venezuelan shortstop Haritzon Castillo signs with the Minnesota Twins. One of their top 2025 signings.https://t.co/aCRAKA5LSP pic.twitter.com/AQ2YsCWI2t

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) January 15, 2025

Teilon Serrano, OF

Flipped to the Twins with Los Angeles pursuing the Roki Sasaki move, Serrano is a nice get to round out the ranked prospects. His speed is plus-plus and already grades out at 65. The bat will need help if everything is going to work, but he can track the baseball all over an expansive outfield. Even if he winds up being just a defender, those wheels should play.

Other highlights on 2025 Minnesota Twins international free agents

Infielder Jose Barrios — no not the former top pitching prospect who developed into an underwhelming starter who eventually got traded to Toronto — got a sizable signing bonus, as well, which means the Twins must believe in his upside. Pitcher Santiago Castellanos is already flirting with triple-digit velocity, at just 16 years old.

Related: Former Minnesota Twins Player Retires from Broadcast Booth

The practice of scouting international free agents is a difficult beast. A veteran scout named Roman Barinas now handles Latin America scouting for the Minnesota Twins. He was brought in from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, where Serrano was originally supposed to land. No doubt Barinas fingerprints are all over the Minnesota Twins international free agent class of 2025.

Of course there are lots of dart throws in international free agency. Not everyone is a well-polished Shohei Ohtani, and not everyone turns into Juan Soto. Still the Twins wouldn’t mind another Emmanuel Rodriguez or two panning out from this group.

Minnesota Twins Sign Cuban OF Yandro Hernandez

MLB reporter and hall of fame voter, Francys Romero, has the switch-hitting Hernandez ranked as his top U-18 contact hitter in Cuba right now. The $800K signing bonus is far and away the biggest offered by the Twins in this year’s international class. This signing comes a month after the Twins signed two other Latin American prospects, Daiber De Los Santos and Eduardo Beltre.

Cuban OF and switch hitter Yandro Hernández (18) is in agreement with the Minnesota Twins, per sources.

Estimated bonus: $800,000. The deal will be official when he receives free agency in a few days.

I ranked him as the best hitter for average in the U-18 class 2023 in Cuba. pic.twitter.com/WOLcfbcBLf

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) February 15, 2024

Related: Handful of MLB Teams Including Twins Duped by International Prospects Lying About Age

Cuban OF Yandro Hernandez (18) continues to generate interest in the Dominican Republic.

About 10-12 MLB teams truly interested in the switch hitter, per sources.

Hernandez demonstrating that he can consistently beat above 95 mph, fluid swing that projects power and… pic.twitter.com/FjbIwe9qBS

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) February 9, 2024

Read More: Minnesota Twins Sign Top-10 International Prospect, Daiber De Los Santos

But according to a breaking report out of The Athletic, the Twins have been recently duped regarding the age of at least one prospect that they had a hand-shake deal with or had gotten far down the negotiating line with.

Minnesota Twins duped regarding age of international prospect

Many teams recently learned a player they were either interested in, or had reached a verbal agreement with, was older than previously believed, according to people briefed on specifics who were not authorized to speak publicly. Those teams included the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, and Oakland A’s, all of whom declined to comment.

Some of those players were eligible to be signed in the present signing period, others in the future. Several were big names in the amateur circuit, expected to draw seven-figure bonuses. The Athletic is not naming the players because many of them were minors at the time of the agreements.

The Athletic

This report goes far beyond a few teams being duped by random prospects who fell through the cracks of the international scouting agencies that monitor a prospect’s age. It accuses multiple teams of participating in international scouting practices that are questionable, at the least, and possibly criminal, in some cases (keep reading).

Twins recently fired longtime Latin America scouting director

It doesn’t name any of the international prospects that were able to fool teams into believing they were younger nor did it dive into any individual stories related to anything that happened to the Twins. It is important to remember, however, that the Twins just fired their director of international scouting in Latin America a couple of months ago.

Related: Minnesota Twins Will Not Trade Polanco, Farmer or Kepler for Prospects

Fred Guerrero had been working the Dominican for the Minnesota Twins since 2004, and landed them players like Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano. He is one of the most well-known scouts in Latin America. After he was ousted by the Twins, which was reported to be a cost-saving move at the time, Guerrero got a job with the Kansas City Royals a month or two later.

An inside look at the @Twins trip to the Dominican Republic. #MNTwins #MLBDominicana

Photo Blog: https://t.co/R2HmSDMPPX pic.twitter.com/TySALmv9yB

— Twins Photography (@TwinsPics) March 8, 2020

MLB scouting in Latin America is a disaster

The point of this journalistic investigation is to expose the shady things taking place in Latin American scouting right now. And it’s not just the prospects and their handlers who are trying to scam the system. It strongly suggests that teams and their scouts are in on it too.

It says that scouts and team executives communicate with Dominican handlers known as “buscones” through secretive messaging services like ‘WhatsApp’, to arrange and communicate handshake deals with international prospects who are far younger than the 16-year-old minimum set by Major League Baseball.

“Everyone knows everything. There’s tons of WhatsApp groups where agreements (and cancellations) get broadcasted,” one team executive added by text, echoing many others.

The Athletic

MLB Scouts stealing money from international prospects?

But it gets way worse than that. The Athletic’s findings involve international scouts (contracted by MLB teams) who are skimming payments from their teams to these Latin American players. Some of these kids signing under-the-table deals are under the age of 13.

Multiple club executives expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of MLB’s investigators. Suspicion of bribes or skimming at various stages of the international signing process — be it scouts receiving signing-bonus money from players, or scouts directing players to buscones, or league investigators looking the other way — are rampant in the sport.

“We now have teams doing handshake deals with players who will be eligible to sign in January 2027 and 2028 —  these kids are 12-13 f—ing years old, and their agents are shaking hands on $4 million-plus agreements,” said one international scout. “It’s fair to assume that creates additional pressure on agents to make younger and younger kids appear more and more advanced over their classmates.”

The Athletic

Related: Rocco Baldelli Would Bet on Twins Making a Significant Move Before Spring Training

After reading The Athletic’s report, which does not make any mention of Twins former director of Latin American scouting, Fred Guerrero, you have to wonder if there was more to his dismissal than what was made public in November. The timing of his firing, along with the mention of Minnesota in this article, are awfully curious.

Minnesota Twins international signings – 2024

These agreements involve shortstop Daiber De Los Santos, positioned as the No. 8 international prospect, and outfielder Eduardo Beltre, holding the No. 39 spot.

The Twins have agreed to deals with two of the Top 50 international prospects:

No. 8 Daiber De Los Santos
No. 39 Eduardo Beltre

More details: https://t.co/tsiaPe78Aa pic.twitter.com/gzOzfUQypL

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 15, 2024

No. 8: Daiber De Los Santos (17 y/o) – Dominican Republic

Originating from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, De Los Santos is a 17-year-old talent with a listed height of 6’1″ and weight of 160 pounds. He throws and bats right-handed and projects as a future power hitter. Here is a video of De Los Santos taking BP.

According to a scouting report on MLB.com they mention that De Los Santos

“Might have the best raw tools in the class. One thing is certain — the team that signs him and places him in its academy is going to have fun watching him develop. The athletic De Los Santos has fast hands and the potential to have plus arm strength and plus raw power. Overall, he’s emerging as a premium defender at a premium position.”

At just 17 years old, it’ll be awhile before we see him in a Twins uniform. Keep his name in the back of your mind, though, as he projects and has the raw tools of a future MLB star.

No. 39: Eduardo Beltre (17 y/o) – Dominican Republic

Coming from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Beltre is a 17-year-old talent, standing at 6’1″ and weighing 170 pounds. He too bats and throws right-handed. Scouts say he has an aggressive approach at the plate, with a strong arm being in the outfield. Here is a video of Beltre taking BP.

According to a scouting report on MLB.com they emphasize that Beltre

is a powerful athlete with an aggressive approach at the plate and could one day sport plus tools across the board. He has the ability to become a plus runner with plus arm strength in the future, which both work to his advantage in the outfield. He’s known as a reliable center fielder who takes good routes and has good instincts with solid throwing mechanics. There’s a chance he could move to right in the future if he outgrows center.

Beltre could have a bright future in the outfield, with the potential to become a skilled hitter. His speed adds an extra dimension, making him a notable factor in base running and enhancing his overall appeal as a developing player. Witnessing the development of these players is intriguing, especially when you sense the prospect of striking gold with their talent.