Tigers sign outfielder Cris Rodriguez as 2025 international signing period begins

The 16-year-old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, signed for $3.2 million on Wednesday.

The 2025 international signing period opened on Wednesday, and the Tigers quickly locked up their top target. Dominican outfielder Cris Rodriguez agreed to a signing bonus of $3.2 million. That’s the Tigers most expensive IFA signing ever, beating out the $2.95 million bonus for infielder Cristian Santana back in 2021. Rodriguez is the highest ranked international free agent prospect in Tigers’ history.

Rodriguez is a 6-foot-4, 200 pound outfielder and while he already has some of the best batspeed and raw power in this signing class, he also has the frame to add plenty of good muscle as he fills out. He should eventually have double plus power. Rodriguez is also a plus runner who may be able to stick at the center field position. If he loses a little speed as he adds muscle he may move to a corner spot, and he does have a good throwing arm as well and may slot in as a power-hitting right fielder.

MLB Pipeline ranks Rodriguez as the fourth best international prospect in baseball. They expect double plus power and grade him as the top ranked power hitter in the this class. He gets an average grade on his hit tool, with an overall 60 FV grade. That would put the 16-year-old among the top 10-15 prospects in the game. We’ll be more interested in those grades once Rodriguez has faced some pro pitching, but this is a strong collection of tools already. You can find Pipeline’s full report on him here.

One interesting note on the signing is that Scott Harris actually flew to the Dominican Republic to be there in person. Rob Metzler, Tigers VP and assistant GM, had this to say about Rodriguez.

“The bat speed, the power, the bat path. We love the athleticism, the frame, the natural projection. I’d follow that up by saying we feel strongly about the kid. This is a kid we’ve gotten to know really well. The work ethic, character, aptitude are, we believe, to be pluses. That’s what he’s shown us over a significant amount of time. And we’re excited to be able to sign him today.”

The Tigers also signed Venezuelan prospect Jose Ramirez, who offers a strong blend of tools and has played both catcher and center field. The Tigers plan to play him in center field full time. Ramirez has a strong arm, above average speed, and is just a very good all around athlete. He hits right-handed, and while he may fall a little short of average power, he’s performed well at the plate and appears to have solid discipline and good contact ability for his age.

Fellow Venezuelan Carlos Benavides is more of a true catcher, with advanced actions, good footwork, and a strong throwing arm. Benavides hits right-handed, and at this point is still a free swinger with good contact ability. He’ll have to develop his power and plate discipline in pro ball.

The Tigers have also signed Dominican infielders Angel De Los Santos, who looks to be able to play either shortstop or second base, and switch hitter Sterling Bazil. Terms for these signings, other than Rodriguez, haven’t been reported yet.

Finally they also signed one pitcher. Left-hander Anderson Diaz from Venezuela agreed to terms as well.

Entering this signing period, the Tigers had one of the top bonus pools to spend at $7,555,500, so while Rodriguez was pricey, there will be plenty more signings to come.

We’ll continue to update this article as further signings for the Tigers are reported. On Thursday, the Tigers announced several more signings, all from Venezuela.