For the third time in five years, the Yankees made a shortstop their top international signing.
The club inked 16-year-old Manny Cedeño to a $2.5 million deal on Friday, a source confirmed, adding one of the top prospects in this year’s international class to their farm system.
Cedeño, a native of the Dominican Republic, was ranked as MLB.com’s No. 11 international prospect while Baseball America had him at No. 15.
The right-handed hitter, one of the youngest members of the international signing class, has drawn attention, in part, for his bat speed to go with his speed on the bases and sharp fielding.
The Yankees, who had a bonus pool of $6,261,600 from which to sign players this year, also landed lefty-hitting Dominican outfielder Ruben Castillo (Baseball America’s No. 27 prospect in this year’s class), among others.
Cedeño joined outfielder Francisco Vilorio ($1.75 million), outfielder Brando Mayea ($4.35 million), shortstop Roderick Arias ($4 million) and shortstop Hans Montero ($1.6 million) as the Yankees’ top international signings from the last five classes.
