Padres to make a splash in international amateur market

The Padres signing of Xander Bogaerts came with a hefty price: Their second- and fifth-round drafts picks in the upcoming draft and $1 million from next year’s international bonus pool.

All the more reason to go big on Sunday, when the 2023 international signing window opens.

The Padres have been courting catcher Ethan Salas — No. 1 on both Baseball America’s and MLB.com’s international amateur rankings — and ESPN Deportes reported last month that they had a verbal agreement with the 16-year-old Venezuelan prospect for a $5.6 million signing bonus.

A figure that high would eat up almost all of the Padres’ $5.825 million bonus pool for the upcoming window, although it might be worth the price.

Evaluators in the organization believe Salas would quickly rival shortstop Jackson Merrill, the Padres’ first-round pick in 2021, as their top prospect should he sign with the team on Sunday.

Salas is regarded as perhaps the purest left-handed hitter in the class and is capable of developing more power as he grows into a 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame. He also draws high marks for pitch recognition at the plate and the ability to block and receive well behind it. His above-average arm strength, according to Baseball America, is already producing pop times under 1.9 seconds.

Catcher is certainly a position of need in the organization as the upside-depth falls off considerably behind Luis Campusano, who is expected to compete for an opening day job this spring.

Because the Padres are spending the bulk of their bonus pool on Salas, they are not tied to any other international prospects in Baseball America’s top 40. They are, of course, well versed in building classes under constraints. They spent $80-plus million, including overage taxes, in the 2016-17 market. The binge limited them to spending no more than $300,000 on any one player in two subsequent classes.

Players unearthed in those period include infielder Euribiel Angeles, included in the Sean Manaea trade, and infielder Nerwilian Cedeno, one of the organization’s top-30 prospects.

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The Padres’ top international signees over the last five years:

• 2022 | RHP Jarlin Susana, $1.7 million (Included in Juan Soto trade)
• 2021 | SS Victor Acosta, $1.8 million (Traded for Brandon Drury)
• 2019 | RHP Ismael Mena, $2.2 million (Included in Yu Darvish trade)
• 2018 | Several for $300,000
• 2017 | Several for $300,000

40-man roster players signed by the Padres as international amateurs:

• RHP Michel Báez ($3 million in 2016)
• LHP Adrián Morejón ($11 million in 2016)
• INF Eguy Rosario ($300,000 in 2015)

The Union-Tribune’s top-10 Padres prospects (international signees in bold):

• 1 | SS Jackson Merrill
• 2 | C Luis Campusano
• 3 | RHP Dylan Lesko
• 4 | OF Samuel Zavala
• 5 | LHP Robby Snelling
• 6 | RHP Victor Lizarraga
• 7 | RHP Adam Mazur
• 8 | LHP Jay Groome
• 9 | LHP Ryan Weathers
• 10 | INF Eguy Rosario