Braves 2022-2023 International Free Agency Primer

With the 2022-2023 International Free Agent period about to open for MLB, it is now time to start to look at what the Atlanta Braves are expected to do during this international free agency period, starting January 15th.

The 2022-2023 Signing Period

For the second straight offseason, the international signing period will begin on January 15 and run through December 15, 2023. The signing period used to have a July 2 start date, but that was changed in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

International Signing Pools

Per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, below is a breakdown of each team’s bonus pools:

$6,366,900 - Athletics, Brewers, Mariners, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers and Twins

$5,825,500 - Diamondbacks, Guardians, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rockies and Royals

$5,284,000 - Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Nationals, White Sox and Yankees

$4,644,000 - Angels, Phillies and Red Sox

$4,144,000 - Dodgers and Rangers

Also per Sanchez, teams will be permitted to trade international bonus slots during this signing period starting on January 15.

Who are the Braves expected to sign?

The big-ticket item in the Braves class this year is 17-year-old Venezuelan outfielder Luis Guanipa, a player who has risen the rankings boards of J2 prospects in the last year and now is regarded as a Top 10 player in the class by some.

Guanpia is expected to take up the bulk of the Braves pool and is their only significant signing this period. He presents a prospect who just turned 17 and could have average to above tools across the board, despite a presently 5’9”, 145-pound frame. The right-handed hitting and throwing Guanpia may not have the biggest body, but with plus bat speed he should be able to hit for power and average and has enough speed to remain in center field.

Note that you may have heard the Braves are connected to a Top 3 shortstop in the class from Venezuela. That is both true and false. The truth is that the Braves are connected to a Top 3 shortstop, Jose Perdomo, but the false part of that is that he is actually not able to sign until next year.