Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus (via MLBTR) is reporting that the Mets have signed Juan Urbina, a lefty pitcher out of Venezuela.
Urbina is the son of former MLB player Ugeth Urbina. The signing bonus is supposedly worth over $1 million.
This marks the first signing during the international signing period, so brace yourselves for a lot of names you’ve never heard before signing for big money.
Update – 10:23 a.m.: Urbina was listed at the No. 8 international prospect by Baseball America in this SI article.
And here’s a quote from an interview Ben Badler of Baseball America did with River Ave. Blues:
For me, the two that stand out are Venezuelan lefthander Juan Urbina and Dominican righthander Johendi Jiminian. Yes, Urbina is Ugueth’s son, and it shows in his advanced mechanics and feel for pitching. He’ll probably sign with the Mets.
He called it.