In November, the New York Yankees declined to offer a new contract to their director of international scouting, Donny Rowland, who had been in the job since 2010. The move may have been long overdue. According to The Athletic, Rowland was responsible for “many million-dollar misses” in the international signing department.
Whatever Rowland’s previous track record, one thing is certain. The Yankees have seen a stream of teenage international prospects back out of their agreements with the Yankees, potentially setting back New York’s overseas player development for years to come. The latest defection came on Wednesday, according to a report by journalist Wilber Sánchez.
Perhaps the most stunning loss came on Dec. 18 when, as reported by Baseball America, 16-year-old Wandy Asigen of the Dominican Republic renounced his agreement with the Yankees and signed for a reported $3.8 million bonus with the New York Mets.
Asigen is considered one of the top prospects in this year’s international free-agent class.
“This isn’t just losing a prospect,” wrote Empire Sports Media founder Alexander Wilson. “It is losing a potential franchise cornerstone who possesses the kind of tools scouts dream about.”
But he was followed in January by another elite Dominican prospect, infielder Mairon De La Rosa, considered the top hitter in next year’s international class. De La Rosa has a preliminary agreement to sign with the Yankees for a $4.3 million bonus, according to Sánchez.
But according to journalist Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, the teenage switch hitter agreed to sign with the Seattle Mariners for $3.8 million.
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The Yankees have gone on to lose more than a dozen international prospects, with the latest coming on Wednesday when Sánchez reported that Yeison Frontado, a pitcher from Venezuela already clocked above 95 mph despite being only 16 years old, has reneged on his preliminary deal with New York. Frontado is eligible to be signed by a major league club next year.
“The Yankees keep losing players,” Sánchez wrote. “Frontado and his camp are already in the Dominican Republic and will be holding tryouts at Academia Ramos in the coming days as he looks to showcase his talent and explore new opportunities.”
On Jan. 27, the Yankees promoted director of baseball development Mario Garza to lead the international scouting department, but that appointment appears not to have stemmed the tide of young Yankees prospects choosing to jump to other organizations.
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