Phillies Sign Three International Free Agents

Yesterday, the Phillies added three more foreign free agents to their roster.

Zuher Yousuf is a Venezuelan LHP. He was put on the DSL Phillies Red team. Edwin Castillo and Yael Arias are Dominican Republic-born RHPs. Each was given a DSL Phillies White assignment.

I find the fact that all three of these pitchers are older than the typical international free agents signed during the signing period to be the most noteworthy. Arias and Castillo are both 19 years old, while Yousuf is 18 years old. Nobody has ever played in the minor leagues before. These would therefore be their first contracts as professionals.

They could be late bloomers or their agreements from when they were originally eligible were not honored, which are two plausible explanations. The Phillies have previously signed older foreign free agents. Eight or nine other players who were signed at the age of 19 or older are currently at the Academy.

For these children, signing at a later age is a more challenging approach. However, four previous signees have succeeded in entering the United States:

1. Daniel Mejia is a 22-year-old Dominican RHP who signed in 2021 as a 19-year-old.  He is on the FCL Phillies roster.
2. Saul Teran is a 22-year-old Venezuelan RHP who signed in 2021 as a 19-year-old.  He is on the Clearwater Threshers roster.
3. Pan Wen-hui is a 21-year-old Taiwanese RHP who signed in 2023 as a 19-year-old.  He is on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws roster.
4. Erubiel Armenta is a 24-year-old Mexican LHP who signed in 2019 as a 19-year-old.  He is on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws roster.

Another recent older signing was Lee Hao Yu who was a Taiwanese infielder the Phillies signed as an 18-year-old in 2021.  He was traded this past summer to Detroit in the Michael Lorenzen deal.