San Diego Padres 2025 International Signings Review
Image credit: Carlos Alvarez (Photo via Ben Badler)
The Padres were in an unusual position this year as Jan. 15 arrived. As one of the teams that believed they were a finalist to sign righthander Roki Sasaki, the Padres didn’t sign anyone immediately on Jan. 15 as they waited on Sasaki to make a decision. That meant other teams were trying to pry away players from the Padres as those players were in limbo, but by the time Sasaki announced that he was going to the Dodgers, the Padres were able to still secure their signing class.
Still, they had left a significant chunk on their international bonus pool for this year uncommitted, so they still have around $2.5 million available in their pool that they can spend before the signing period closes on Dec. 15.
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You can find international reviews for all 30 teams here.
Top Of The Class
The price tag went up for Dominican lefthander Carlos Alvarez after he had an open workout for teams on Jan. 15 when he was still unsigned while teams were waiting on Sasaki. The Padres ultimately were able to keep him, signing him for $1 million, the biggest bonus for any lefthander in the 2025 signing period. Alvarez is 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, a highly projectable, athletic frame for him to continue adding to a fastball that reached 93 mph before he signed and has inched up to 94. He shows feel for a breaking ball into the low 80s that has three-quarters break at times with two-plane depth. It should eventually develop into more of true slider with the potential to be an average-or-better pitch. The slider is his best secondary pitch, but he will flash sink and fade on his changeup at times.
The highest ranked player in the Padres system right now from San Diego’s 2025 international class is 17-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Deivid Coronil, who signed for $900,000. He has a long, expandable frame that has kept growing to 6-foot-4, 180 pounds with tons of space left to add muscle to his lanky build. He’s a switch-hitter whose long limbs left some scouts with concerns about swing-and-miss early in the evaluation process, but others liked his hitting ability and natural loft in his swing from the left side, where he flashes home run power now and could develop into a 20-25 home run threat. Coronil has the tools and athleticism to stick at shortstop, though part of whether he will stay there long term depends on how he develops physically. He’s a plus runner and has a strong arm that could end up another plus tool once he fills out.
Dominican shortstop Jhoan De La Cruz signed with the Padres for $1 million. At 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, De La Cruz has a smaller to medium frame at 17 with solid skills across the board and a chance to stick at shortstop. There’s no one carrying tool with De La Cruz, but he shows good bat-to-ball skills from both sides of the plate with a line-drive approach and doubles power. His ability to get on base will likely have to drive his offensive game as a player whose frame doesn’t point toward big power in the future. He’s an average runner who has good hands in the field and an above-average arm.
Names To Know
Sebastian Peña, OF, Venezuela: Peña signed with the Padres for $600,000. He’s a 17-year-old lefty who is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with a sound swing with the strength behind it to drive the ball out of the park to his pull side. Scouts highest on Peña liked his ability to hit in games, while others thought it would end up a power-over-hit profile. He’s an average runner who could move around all three outfield spots but likely projects best in a corner.
Yonaiker Hernandez, SS, Venezuela: Signed for $100,000, Hernandez is 6 feet, 155 pounds with the versatility to play all over the field. He could see time at every position this year between the infield and outfield as an athletic righthanded hitter with a fast bat for his skinny frame from the right side of the plate.
Sleeper Watch
Most of the Padres’ signings outside their top three players were spread around to an array of players in the $10,000 to $30,000 range. Righthander Miguel Ledesma, signed for $25,000, is an 18-year-old up to 95 mph from an athletic 6-foot, 175-pound build. It’s a loose, easy delivery with long limbs and the potential to add more velocity, pairing his fastball with a breaking ball that gets in between a slider and curveball and likely shapes into a slider in time.
The Padres continued to be among the more active teams in Mexico, signing five players from there this year, including 17-year-old righthander Jesus Castro, who is the younger brother of Padres Double-A righthander Manuel Castro. Signed for $10,000, Castro is 5-foot-11, 155 pounds and throws strikes with a fastball up to 92 mph and tight spin on his slider.
Santiago Vargas will miss the Dominican Summer League season due to injury, but long term he looks like an intriguing sleeper for his offensive potential. A 17-year-old, switch-hitting infielder from Colombia signed for $10,000, Vargas is 5-foot-10, 175 pounds and played winter ball last year for Cartegena in the Colombian Professional Baseball League, where he hit .328/.358/.443 in 61 at-bats facing older competition. It’s a flat path with good barrel control to cover the plate well with a hit-over-power offensive game. He has a chance to stick at shortstop and should fit somewhere in the infield at higher levels.
