SF Giants acquire international bonus pool money in trade with Miami Marlins

On Thursday, the SF Giants completed a very minor trade. They acquired international bonus pool money from the Miami Marlins in exchange for catching prospect Carlos Martinez, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

SF Giants acquire international bonus pool money in trade with Miami Marlins

The Giants finalized signing bonuses with a relatively small group of international free agents last week. Middle infield prospect Luis Hernández out of Venezuela headlined the group of prospects, but those may not be the only signings they make.

The Giants had one of the lowest bonus pools available at $5.4 million. This was due to crossing the luxury tax in 2024 and signing Willy Adames. Adames had rejected a qualifying offer from the Milwaukee Brewers last winter.

With the signing, the Giants lost their second-and-fifth-highest selections in the 2025 draft, as well as $1 million in international bonus pool money in 2026. They are now done with those penalties.

The Giants allocated nearly all of their bonus pool to Hernández. However, Alexis Gallego out of Mexico and outfielder Angelo Ugueto out of Venezuela received notable bonuses as well. That should put them right up against the available bonus pool space.

Teams cannot exceed their bonus pools. Major League Baseball will not approve any deals that do exceed that amount. However, teams can supplement that amount by trading for additional bonus pool money.

Why would the Giants need more space? GPT on Blue Sky shared that the Giants are connected to a few more international free agents in this year's cycle, all expected to receive signing bonuses over $100,000. Some folks have asked about who they might be connected to in future cycles. GPT gives a great breakdown of that, too. This is a good read for Giants fans.

The Giants did not reveal how much bonus pool space they would be receiving in the deal, but teams can acquire increments of $250,000.

Carlos Martinez was signed by the Giants out of Venezuela in last year's cycle. He received a $47,500 signing bonus.

In his lone season with the Giants organization, Martinez posted a .501 OPS with two home runs and nine RBI in 108 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. He appeared in games for both affiliates last summer.