Chicago Cubs 2025 International Signings Review
Image credit: Juan Tomas (Photo via Ben Badler)
For the Cubs, their 2025 international signing class was built around three players who signed for bonuses of more than $1 million. That didn’t stop them from sprinkling in other intriguing athletes and lesser-known pitching with promise to add to the depth of their class, but it’s a group that primarily revolves around their big three signings this year.
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Here are scouting reports on nine players to watch from the Cubs’ 2025 international signing class. You can find international reviews for all 30 teams here.
Top Of The Class
Entering the Dominican Summer League season, the highest ranked player in the Cubs system from their 2025 class is 17-year-old shortstop Juan Tomas, who signed out of the Dominican Republic for $1.1 million. Tomas originally looked ticketed to the Marlins, but after the organization made changes to its international scouting department last summer, Tomas instead ended up going to the Cubs.
Tomas is 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, an long-limbed, expandable frame with exciting power/speed potential. He’s a switch-hitter who’s able to keep his swing relatively short for a hitter with his length and stays behind the ball well with a solid sense of the strike zone. His righthanded stroke is his dominant side where he’s able to more consistently get his best swings off, launching balls out of the park in games with the upside to grow into plus or potentially plus-plus raw power.
Tomas is a plus runner and a quick-twitch athlete with an average arm that could still tick up as he fills out. Players as big as Tomas often move off shortstop, but he has the athleticism, tools and body control to have a chance to stick there depending in part on his physical development.
Dominican shortstop Wilfri De La Cruz signed for $2.3 million, the biggest bonus for the Cubs this year and the No. 8 bonus overall for a Latin American player signed in 2025. De La Cruz is a 17-year-old switch-hitter who is a wiry 6-foot-3, 175 pounds with broad shoulders and significant space left to fill out. His offensive upside is what stands out the most.
Scouts highest on De La Cruz liked his strike-zone judgment and power potential. He’s a long-levered hitter whose swing can get big from the right side, so some scouts thought his power would come with swing-and-miss, but it’s a more advanced swing lefthanded with a chance to grow into plus power.
De La Cruz is an above-average runner with a plus arm and should be able to play somewhere on the left side of the infield. His bat is ahead of his defense, with range and glove work that could eventually shift him over to third base as he gets closer to the majors.
Juan Cabada isn’t as big as Tomas or De La Cruz, but he’s a talented hitter and consistent offensive performer as an amateur before signing with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic for $1.5 million.
Cabada is 5-foot-10, 175 pounds with a knack for being on time and on the barrel. He gets his lefthanded swing started with a quick, tight turn of the barrel and makes contact at a high clip. It’s a smaller strike zone that he uses to his advantage with his ability to recognize spin and maintain a selective approach. He’s aggressive within the strike zone, producing quality contact to all fields with consistent quality at-bats.
Cabada has a thicker build without a ton of physical projection, which could limit his future power, though some scouts think he will get strong and develop more over-the-fence thump once he learns which pitches to try to pull in the air for damage. Cabada trained as a shortstop and might still get some exposure there, but he’s likely to see most of his time at second and third base. He’s an offensive-oriented player with average speed and arm strength.
Names To Know
Luis Santos, INF, Dominican Republic: Santos signed for $135,000, the fourth-highest bonus for the Cubs this year after their big three. It’s a smaller frame (listed 5-foot-7, 162 pounds) from an offensive-minded infielder with a low swing-and-miss rate from the left side of the plate. It’s a short, quick stroke geared for line drives with occasional doubles power. Santos trained as a shortstop but likely will see more time at second and third base.
Julio Acosta, SS/OF, Dominican Republic: Acosta, a 17-year-old who got $125,000, has promising raw tools if he’s able to put it all together. He’s 5-foot-11, 175 pounds with plus speed and a plus arm. He spent time as both a shortstop and outfielder as an amateur, and he should continue to get time in both the infield and outfield this year. Acosta’s fast bat speed gives him sneaky power as well for his size, but there’s still some crudeness to his at-bats against live pitching that he will have to refine to tap into that pop.
Sleeper Watch
Tadeo Gamez is a 16-year-old righthander from Mexico who signed with the Cubs for $50,000. He’s 6 feet, 168 pounds with fast arm speed, running his fastball up to 94 mph. His pitchability for his age is good as well, mixing in a curveball and changeup.
Venezuelan shortstop Elerick Gomez signed with the Cubs for $60,000. He’s 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, a smaller player who plays with a lot of quickness and energy. He’s a 17-year-old righthanded hitter with plus speed and quick-twitch athleticism to play somewhere in the middle of the field.
Two more under-the-radar pitchers to watch this year for the Cubs in the Dominican Summer League are 18-year-old righthander Jubrayker Salaya and 19-year-old righthander Christopher Aranguren. They each signed for $10,000 in December at the close of the 2024 signing period but haven’t pitched yet in an official game. Aranguren (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is athletic, up to 94 mph from funky mechanics with the ability to get swing-and-miss on both his fastball and breaking ball. Salaya (6-foot-2, 165 pounds) is another solid strike-thrower with a fastball touching 92 mph and significant physical projection for more velocity still to come.
