SF Giants linked to top talent as international signing period looms

Thanks to the MLB lockout, transactions that affect a team's 40-man roster have not been allowed since December 2. Plenty of Minor League moves have taken place since the Majors went dark, including multiple by the SF Giants, but those players have been in professional baseball for years already and are looking to continue their careers.

SF Giants linked to top talent as international signing period looms

Soon, however, new blood will be introduced into the MLB world with international amateur free agents signing contracts to begin their professional careers. For the first time since 2018, the Giants are expected to ink one of the top available players.

Since their signing of Marco Luciano, to whom they gave $2.6 million in 2018, the Giants have shied away from paying big bucks to international amateur free agents - choosing instead to focus on depth and overall quality, according to Baseball America (subscription required).

For the 2021-22 international class, the Giants are returning to the Bahamas for their big ticket for the first time since shelling out $6.5 million for infielder Lucius Fox in 2015, breaking the international amateur bonus record for a non-Cuban (that deal also sunk their ability to pay any international amateur more than $300,000 for a couple years, but they bounced back from that restriction in a big way with the Luciano signing).

For almost a year, the Giants have been the frontrunners for Bahamian infielder Ryan Reckley. A switch-hitter listed at 5'10" and 170 pounds, Reckley will turn 18 in September. He comes in as the #9 international prospect available in this cycle according to both MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America and is projected to be average to above-average in all areas except power.

He'll need quite a bit of Minor League seasoning to be ready to contribute to the team at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, but if Reckley capitalizes on his potential he can be a leadoff hitter who can wreak havoc on the bases and play solid defense.

Until the coronavirus pandemic, MLB teams began signing the year's available international amateurs on July 2, but in an effort to save money the league pushed back the 2020 signing date to January of 2021. The league repeated the measure this year, meaning January 15 is the expected date that international signings will become official.