A 14-year-old Dominican baseball player who had a verbal agreement with the Padres on a deal worth roughly $4 million was actually five years older than believed, according to ESPN, just the latest scandal to hit the international signing market. The player, who was going by the name Cesar Altagracia, has had his deal withdrawn.
International players aren't eligible to be signed until they are 16 years old in the current system, so the verbal agreement was to hold until Altagracia was 16. Like clockwork, the two sides would put the pen to the paper in January 2027. Except, according to ESPN, Altagracia is actually 19 and had used falsified documents to claim he was five years younger and garner more MLB interest.
It's unclear what prompted MLB's investigation.
Altagracia had played for an under-12 Dominican team in the 2022 Baseball World Cup and an under-15 Dominican team in the Pan Am Championships this past year, according to the report.
MLB teams can sign players from Latin America and other locations during the international free agency period each year. Typically, the hottest teen prospects are signed for big money once they hit 16 years old. Teams begin scouting players sometimes as young as 12 years old, often reaching handshake or verbal agreements with the children and their representatives years before legally allowed.
This system is what has brought players like Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, Jose Altuve, Ronald Acuña Jr., Willson Contreras and Salvador Perez to Major League Baseball, so there's a monster incentive for MLB teams to try to gain any edge possible in scouting these youngsters.
Of course, there's also incentive for players to try to get noticed in any possible way they can. The younger they are, the better the prospect they're considered,