Report: Diamondbacks Sign Alam Bruno
Per Jesse Borek, the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with a Dominican Republic shortstop named Alam Bruno for a signing bonus worth $950,000. This was reported on Day 1 of the International Amateur Free Agent Market being open for signings and business.
This class has been extremely Dominican Republic-heavy, as the vast majority of players reportedly signed by Arizona have hailed from the Caribbean island.
The Diamondbacks' bonus pool is $6,908,600. January 15 is when the International Amateur Free Agent market opens. The first player was Elian De La Cruz, a consensus top-35 player from the Dominican Republic.
The D-backs still have plenty of their bonus pool remaining to sign other international free agents or to trade for other teams' prospects.
Bruno is listed at 6'4 and swings left-handed while throwing right-handed. Bruno is quite fast, running 60 yards in 6.74 seconds. He has extreme pull-side power with the ability to drive the ball a far distance.
He does this with a big leg kick and fast hands that create a high-speed bat swing. However, his arms are very long which means he might have trouble against inside pitches, a factor that he will have to work on in the future.
The lanky shortstop has been playing on the Diamondbacks Scout Team in the Dominican Republic. On defense, he has quick feet and hands and a big arm. He might be able to stay at shortstop but the probability is that he moves to third base. However, thanks to his speed and size, he can cover a lot of ground at the shortstop position.
The Arizona Diamondbacks certainly have a prospect with plenty of upside who could become a big-league regular in four or so years at a minimum.
For now, he will start his career at the Dominican Republic Baseball Academy that the D-backs just built. It is the finest and newest academy in the country and in MLB.
This has yet to be confirmed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, since the market for international free agents is not yet open until January 15, so 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.