Baseball is international.
Today marks the beginning of a new international signing period, as teams will welcome fresh-faced young players – mostly from Latin America – into their organizations. The international market can be a crapshoot – teams are gambling on teenagers who are barely old enough to drive in the United States, hoping their bodies fill out, they can hit professional breaking balls, and that their given birth certificate is correct.
The Royals, like many teams, didn’t invest in the international market for many years. They sat on the sidelines while innovative teams like the Dodgers and Blue Jays set up academies in the Dominican Republic in the 1980s. More teams set up shop in the 1990s, spreading to other Latin American countries like Venezuela, but an uncertain ownership situation kept the Royals from investing much in international scouting.
It really wasn’t until Dayton Moore came on in 2006 that the team began making large investments in the international market, and even then it was with varying results. They signed Cuban left-handed pitcher Noel Arguelles for $7 million in 2009, but he never made it past Double-A and washed out of affiliated ball by age 25. On the other hand, scout Juan Indriago offered a skinny Venezuelan infielder $65,000 and had him try throwing from behind home plate. That kid became a nine-time All-Star catcher named Salvador Perez.
Here are the greatest international signings in Royals history.
10. Onix Concepción
I may be missing someone, but I think Concepción is the first Royals player signed on the international market that reached the big leagues. And Concepción wasn’t really even international – he is from Puerto Rico, which at the time he signed players from there were not subject to the amateur draft as they are today. Concepción was the starting shortstop for much of the year for the 1985 championship team, but was benched in the post-season. He was a semi-regular for the Royals from 1982-1985, but was a very light hitter, hitting .239 with just three home runs in 390 MLB games.
9. Maikel Garcia
There is still plenty of time for Garcia to move up this list, and he has shown flashes of potential over his first two seasons. Garcia is part of a famous baseball family that includes former Royals All-Star Alcides Escobar, former National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., and former big leaguers Edwin Escobar, Kelvim Escobar, Luisangel Acuña, Vicente Campos, and José Escobar.
8. Runelvys Hernández
Hernández became the Opening Day starter in 2003 due to a coin flip by manager Tony Peña. He would twirl a gem, as the team won their first nine games in a row, part of an incredible start to the season. Hernández won seven games for that team with the third-best ERA among pitchers with at least 10 starts. But he missed the next season after Tommy John surgery and was never the same after that.
7. Carlos Febles
In 1999, the Royals had a youth movement with two young promising players dubbed !Dos Carlos! One of them – Carlos Beltrán – would win Rookie of the Year and go on to become a nine-time All-Star and potential Hall of Famer. The other – Carlos Febles – would hit .256 with 10 home runs his rookie year, but play in just 506 MLB games overall.
6. Adalberto Mondesi
In 2011 the Royals made a huge splash in the international market, dishing out two of the five biggest bonuses. They gave $3 million to outfielder Elier Hernandez, and $2 million to shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, son of former big leaguer Raul Mondesi. Adalberto had 80-grade speed and impressive raw power for a middle infielder. Hed led the league in triples in 2019 and led the league in steals in 2020. But he could never stay on the field consistently, never appearing in more than 102 games in a season. He was traded in 2023, and last year did not even play anywhere despite being only 28 years old.
5. Freddy Fermin
Fermin was a late bloomer, but the Royals knew something when they added him to the 40-man roster in 2022 and he won MVP in the Venezuelan Winter League that off-season. He has become one of the best backup catchers in baseball, hitting .271/.319/.366 in 111 games this year, earning a nomination for a Gold Glove.
4. Hipólito Pichardo
Pichardo was an early international signing out of the Dominican Republic, reaching the big leagues in 1992 at age 22. In just his 19th game, he retired 27 of the 28 batters he faced – only a sixth-inning double kept him from a perfect game. He won nine games that year and was a 2.6 rWAR pitcher the next year. He had very low strikeout rates, even for that era, but he carved out a seven-season career in Kansas City as a swingman with a solid ERA+ of 103.
3. Yordano Ventura
“Ace” Ventura electrified baseball with a 100 mph fastball and a fiery attitude on the mound. He won 14 games in 2014 and earned Rookie of the Year votes, but his best performance came that fall. He was dominant against the Angels in the ALDS, then posted a 1.46 ERA in two starts against the Giants, including a memorable Game 6 performance where he blanked San Francisco just days after losing his friend, Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras in a car crash. Tragically, Ventura would lose his own life in a car crash after the 2016 season.
2. Kelvin Herrera
Herrera was a decent minor league starter, but he moved to the bullpen in 2011 and enjoyed a meteoric rise to the big leagues, leading the team with 76 relief appearances as a rookie in 2012 with a 2.35 ERA. He became part of the vaunted “HDH” bullpen trio with Wade Davis and Greg Holland that effective ended games after six innings. Herrera was a two-time All-Star and became closer in 2017 with 26 saves before the Royals traded him to Washington.
1. Salvador Perez
Few players have had a career as unusual as Salvador Perez. He had solid numbers in the minors, but there was no indication the Royals were developing a future All-Star. He reached the big leagues and made an impact immediately, hitting .331 and flashing Gold Glove defense. He earned his first of nine All-Star nods in 2012, as well as the first of his five Gold Glove awards. He had one of the most iconic hits in Royals history with his game-winning hit agains the A’s in the 2014 Wild Card, and won World Series MVP in 2015 against the Mets as the Royals won it all. He became a home run champ in 2021, and his 273 career home runs are the ninth-most ever by a player who primarily played catcher. He is showing little sign of decline, which could mean he hits his way into Cooperstown.
Others: Andrés Blanco, Jorge Bonifacio, Ambiorix Burgos, Cheslor Cuthbert, Carlos Hernández, Mendy Lopez, Félix Martínez, Meibrys Viloria, Ángel Zerpa