Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Set to Sign Exciting Shortstop Out of Dominican Republic

The international signing period begins on January 15th and the Blue Jays are set to give a hefty bonus to Christopher Polanco out of the Dominican Republic.

Brady Farkas

A Toronto Blue Jays hat and glove in the dugout during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Rogers Centre in 2024.
A Toronto Blue Jays hat and glove in the dugout during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Rogers Centre in 2024. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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The newest international signing period begins on January 15, 2025 and though Roki Sasaki is the biggest prize for teams, there is plenty of talent to go around.

Baseball America put out a primer on the top prospects, all of whom already have handshake agreements with teams.

One of the top prospects in the class, shortstop Christopher Polanco out of the Dominican Republic, is already in agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays. Baseball America projects him to receive a signing bonus of greater than $1 million.

Here's a portion of the scouting report on him:

Polanco is one of the more advanced lefthanded hitters in the 2025 international class. He regularly strings together quality at-bats and performs well in games with a short, sweet swing that’s mechanically sound and a knack for barreling good velocity. Polanco’s hitting ability is what stands out most. He can sneak a ball out to his pull side, but it’s mostly doubles pop with a hit-over-power game. An average runner, Polanco is an offensive-oriented middle infielder who should get a chance to develop at shortstop.

The Blue Jays are not well-regarded in terms of their prospect depth, so signing Polanco should help raise the floor of the system. At the major league-level, Toronto is coming off a season in which they went 74-88 and finished last in the American League East.

The Blue Jays did get a minor infusion of talent at the trade deadline in deals that sent Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner and Yimi Garcia to new locations, but they still lack real impact on the minor league front.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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