Rays Swipe Top International Prospect Who Yankees Were Once Favored to Sign
By Parker White
The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees aren't just division rivals on the field, but it's extended all the way into the international market.
According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, Tampa Bay has signed 16-year-old Dominican outfield prospect Jhon Diaz, who is rated as the 18th-best international prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Jhon Diaz, #18 on @MLBPipeline’s Top 30 Int’l Prospects list, has signed with the @RaysBaseball. The Yankees were once considered the favorite to sign him. pic.twitter.com/YMPjHdsU5A
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) August 29, 2019
This is the same Jhon Diaz who the Yankees were favored to sign and reportedly had a signing bonus of $1.2 million agreed upon with New York. Well, the deal was obviously never finalized and he's decided to take his talents to a different AL East squad.
Rays Sign Jhon Diaz https://t.co/jiL173Kqxh pic.twitter.com/iDX2WV9EvN
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) August 29, 2019
One reason as to why the Yankees didn't have the money to pull this off is because they used a huge chunk of their bonus pool money on Dominican outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez, and to sign both he and Diaz the Yankees needed to trade for more bonus pool money.
That didn't happen and here we are.
Diaz doesn't jump off the page at you from a physical standpoint and he's not some heralded offensive prospect. However, he has top-notch speed and is lauded for his defensive instincts, giving the Rays another talented youngster to stick in their loaded farm system.