The A’s signed 12 international prospects on Friday, including well sought-after Dominican outfielder Pedro Pineda.
A’s assistant general manager Dan Feinstein was excited to bring on the new additions, but specifically touched on what made Pineda so special.
“He’s a true five-tool player who we had pegged early on in this process as the premier player in the class,” Feinstein told reporters on Friday. “He has the skillset and passion to play the game.”
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Feinstein added Pineda is going to be a very good major league player one day, but couldn’t quite name one skill in particular that made the 17-year-old stand out. And for good reason.
“Really, all of them,” Feinstein smiled. “Really he’s big, strong physical with speed and power. Plays a really good centerfield, he’s got a rifle for an arm. It’s fun to watch him play baseball.”
Pineda, ranked No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 international prospects list, had been deemed one of the more explosive players in the class, with great bat speed and raw power.
Pineda and the A’s reportedly have agreed to a deal that includes a multimillion-dollar bonus., according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The A's have not confirmed the monetary value on the deal
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Feinstein said Friday the A’s don’t typically comment how much of their international pool money they used, but did say the team “did spend a good portion” of their pool for this year's class.
Feinstein also said the process of signing these kids and changing their lives is something that never gets old.
“No, never,” Feinstein said. “To see the joy on these player’s and families’ faces -- the culmination of years of effort on, really the entire part of the family that dedicate their lives to these player’s futures, it just never gets old to see those looks.”
With the pandemic, however, Feinstein wasn’t able to see these looks in person.
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“I’m sad that I couldn’t be there to share some of the joy that these families experienced today,” Feinstein said.
Here is the list of all 12 international signings:
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