Report: Diamondbacks Will Sign Ronny Suarez
Per Baseball America, the Arizona Diamondbacks will soon sign outfielder Ronny Suarez. He's from Venezuela. Francys Romero reported the news too, and said the bonus should be around $550,000.
Baseball America's rankings showed that Suarez was the 87th ranked international prospect, though the rankings are not unanimous by any degree across outlets when it comes to international prospects.
The Diamondbacks' bonus pool is $6,908,600. This is the second player the D-backs have been reported to be signing come January 15 once the International Amateur Free Agent market opens. The first player was Elian De La Cruz who is a consensus top-35 player.
The D-backs still have plenty of their bonus pool remaining to sign other international free agents, to trade for other teams' prospects, or in the shock move of the decade, sign Roki Sasaki.
The scouting report comes primarily from Baseball America.
The Venezuelan outfielder mostly plays center field and possesses plenty of power and speed. This duo of skills gives him the potential to stay in center field long-term, although the glove will need some work. His powerful arm would play in any outfield spot.
The right-handed hitter has plenty of pop, but will need to work on making more contact as it's currently a power-over-contact approach.
Suarez is the latest newcomer to the Diamondbacks' growing farm system, though he is still years away from sniffing the Major Leagues. He will likely start the season in the Dominican Summer League at the team's brand-new facility. The Dominican Republic Academy was the first to be made in MLB.
Suarez is the team's first signing out of Venezuela in this upcoming free agent class, though there are likely more players to come.
This has yet to be confirmed by the Diamondbacks, since the market for international free agents is not yet open until January 15. Stay tuned for an article confirming this move and the other moves with players that have yet to be reported on Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI.