SF Giants land one of the top international prospects as 2025 cycle opens

After much anticipation, the international free agency cycle opened up on Wednesday. The SF Giants finalized contracts with 15 international prospects, headlined by middle infield prospect Josuar De Jesus González out of the Dominican Republic.

SF Giants land one of the top international prospects as 2025 cycle opens

Both team and player generally have a verbal agreement in place in advance of the period opening up. However, the deals can be finalized once the cycle begins with many of the new additions beginning their pro careers this summer.

The Giants have long been connected to González and were able to come to an agreement on Wednesday. He received a $2,997,500 signing bonus, which is the second-largest signing bonus in franchise history on the international amateur market. Lucius Fox set the record back in 2015 when he agreed to a $6 million signing bonus.

González was considered one of the best prospects in this year's class with several outlets ranking him as the top prospect outside of Roki Sasaki. The young infielder is an excellent athlete with the speed, range, and arm to be able to stick at shortstop. He hits from both sides of the plate and should add more power as he matures.

The Giants added a couple more top prospects in outfielder Djean Macares out of Aruba and Yulian Barreto out of Venezuela. Macares is reportedly set to receive a $1.1 million signing bonus, whereas Barreto will get a $900,000 signing bonus according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. The Giants have committed nearly $5 million of their $5.1 million bonus pool with these three signings alone.

Macares has a fluid swing from the left side and barrels the ball with regularity. He currently flashes gap-to-gap power and there are questions about whether that will translate to home run power as he develops. Barreto is a glove-first shortstop with a line-drive swing.

In this year's class, the Giants signed one prospect out of Aruba, one out of Colombia, two out of the Dominican Republic, one out of Panama, one out of San Martin, and eight out of Venezuela. Many of these prospects will appear in the Dominican Summer League later this year. However, today marks the first step in what is hopefully a long career in pro baseball for many.