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Another New York Yankees international prospect has departed the club.
In January, the New York Yankees promoted their own director of baseball development to take over the team’s international scouting department. Mario Garza, 44, was tasked with bringing some order back to an international program in disarray and stemming the flood of international prospects backing out on their deals with the Yankees.
The latest such loss was reported on Wednesday by journalist Wilber Sánchez, and it involved one of the Yankees’ top international free agents, who is now looking to sign with another organization, according to the Sánchez report. Jassel Bermúdez, a 6-foot-5, 17-year-old right-handed pitcher, was considered the top prospect to come out of Mexico in the IFA Class of 2026.
“He had a pre-agreement with the New York organization, but he ultimately returned to the market, and his name has once again gained traction among franchises,” Sánchez wrote on his social media account. “On the mound, he stands out with a fastball that already reaches 92 mph, which he pairs with a slider that has good break and a devastating changeup that generates swing-and-miss results.”
However, according to an online post by Top Velocity Boca Raton, a baseball development facility in Florida where Bermúdez trains, the teenage righty has reached 95 mph with his fastball.
Bermúdez Another in Flood of Lost IFA Prospects
Why the teenage prospect decided to cancel his preliminary agreement with the Yankees and go back on the open market rather than sign with New York on Jan. 15, the opening day of the 2026 international signing window, is unclear. But he was only one of at least six prospects from the 2026 signing class alone to turn their backs on the Yankees.
Dominican Republic shortstop Wandy Asigen was the most prominent defection. Rated No. 2 overall in the class by MLB Pipeline, the 16-year-old shed his preliminary agreement with the Yankees to take a reported $3.8 million bonus from the New York Mets.
Others have simply, like Bermúdez, put themselves back on the market. Other losses have occurred in later classes. Jorge Luis Jiménez, a 15-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic, canceled his $950,000 agreement with the Yankees to agree with the Minnesota Twins on a $1.5 million bonus.
Most of the prospect losses took place after the Yankees parted ways with longtime international scouting director Donny Rowland, 62, whose contract ended in November and was not renewed. The organization is placing its faith in Garza to end the apparent chaos, according to a report Wednesday by Yankees correspondent Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.
Garza has previously managed three Yankees minor-league teams and played four seasons as a catcher in the Houston Astros organization, though he never reached the major league level, Kuty reported.
Teen Pitchers Added 10 mph to Fastball in 2 Years
According to a video interview posted online by the Showtime academy, Bermúdez has seen remarkably quick development in his time training there.
“I arrived right after turning 15. I’m 17 now,” the prospect said in the Spanish-language interview posted last October. “My top velocity was 82 miles per hour. Now I’m throwing 92. The process has been tough, but you can’t let go of the reins. You keep working, no matter the obstacle or circumstance. Keep working hard — that’s the goal.”
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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