Minor League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays' 2025 International Signing Class Lauded as Best in MLB

According to MLB Pipeline, the Tampa Bay Rays signing Maykel Coret, Raymer Medina, Warel Solano and Eliomar Garces gives them the best international signing class so far.

Sam Connon

Apr 3, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A general view of a Tampa Bay Rays hat and glove during the seventh inning of the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Apr 3, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A general view of a Tampa Bay Rays hat and glove during the seventh inning of the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. / Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images
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The Tampa Bay Rays have made a few decent splashes in big league free agency this winter, but the organization's showing on the international amateur market has drawn even more praise.

MLB Pipeline reporter Jesse Borek broke down the five best 2025 international signing classes so far in an article published Thursday. While he did not list the teams in any particular order, Borek said on last weeks' "Pipeline Podcast" that the Rays had the top crop of incoming international prospects.

The top-ranked player in Tampa Bay's class is Dominican outfielder Maykel Coret, who MLB Pipeline has ranked at No. 9 among international prospects. Dominican shortstop Raymer Medina comes in at No. 20, followed by another Dominican shortstop in Warel Solano at No. 30.

Venezuelan shortstop Eliomar Garces just missed MLB Pipeline's top 50, per Borek, giving the Rays yet another elite teenage infielder to develop.

Coret, Medina, Solano and Garces all earned signing bonuses that exceeded $1 million. The Rays entered the 2025 signing period tied for the largest available bonus pool at $7.6 million, after all, so they had cash to burn in that regard.

Tampa Bay also signed Dominican shortstop Emmanuel Cedeno, Venezuelan catcher Brainerh Palacios, Dominican outfielder Emile Torres and Cuban outfielder Kadil Rubio to six-figure deals.

Combining those foreign up-and-comers with the haul of MLB Draft prospects that the Rays have stockpiled in recent years, and the future sure seems bright in St. Petersburg.

Related MiLB Stories

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  • ISAAC SUBJECT OF DEBATE: While Xavier Isaac is one of the top prospects in the Rays' farm system, MLB Pipeline's experts are wary of his troublesome strikeout and whiff rates. CLICK HERE
  • SHORTSTOP OF THE FUTURE PRAISED: Carson Williams, the crown jewel of Tampa Bay's farm system, was named the best defensive prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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