SF Giants Expected to Sign Bahamian Shortstop For $2 Million

According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, the SF Giants are the leading candidates to sign Ryan Reckley, a switch-hitting shortstop from the Bahamas, for roughly $2 million. Per Badler’s reporting, Reckley would receive the eighth largest bonus of the 2021-22 international free-agent signing period. Each MLB organization has a limited pool of money they are allowed to spend each cycle. Assuming the Giants do ink Reckley, he will likely be the only premium signing of the group.

Since adding top international prospect Marco Luciano with a $2.6 million signing bonus in the 2018-19 international free-agent period, the Giants have leaned away from the most expensive talent on the market. Over the past two cycles, San Francisco has not paid any individual player a signing bonus worth more than $1.2 million. However, they appear slated to go big again in the coming year.

The SF Giants are the leading candidate to sign top Bahamian SS Ryan Reckley.

Reckley is an athletic switch-hitting shortstop with obvious big-time potential. Per Badler, Reckley is projected to be a top-of-the-lineup bat with plus speed and strong defense at short if he reaches his ceiling. However, still 16-years old, there’s a lot of time for his projection to change.

Teams are not allowed to officially sign international free agents until July. Unlike player acquisition domestically, though, organizations routinely come to verbal agreements with prospects well before they are eligible to sign. Last season, the league used the COVID-19 pandemic to justify delaying the start of the 2020-21 cycle to January of this year. Some around the league expect that to happen again. If so, Reckley would not officially join the organization until January of next year.

The Bahamas have become a recent bastion of top baseball talent. The SF Giants have not shied away from the Caribbean isle, paying Lucius Fox a $6.5 million signing bonus to join the organization in 2015. Today, Bahamian natives Jazz Chisholm and Kristian Robinson are two of the most exciting prospects in professional baseball. Young shortstop Ryan Reckley could be the next exciting player to come from the Bahamas.