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Blue Jays are expected to sign MLB Pipeline’s 21st-best international free agent prospect in the 2025 class, Cristopher Polanco
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Nov 29, 2024, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 29, 2024, 18:01 EST
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It’s almost that time of the year when teams sign a bulk of new prospects.
The next International Free Agent period starts on January 15, 2025, and the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to sign a top 30 prospect again. This time around, they’re linked to left-handed batting shortstop Cristopher Polanco, a 16-year-old Dominican Republic native.
Polanco ranks as MLB Pipeline’s 21st-best available prospect. The 5’11”, 170 lb shortstop has very little projection remaining and has a hit-over-power profile, imagine that. What he lacks in size, he makes up with athleticism but he’ll probably end up at second base.
With the bat, he has a smooth swing with quick bat speed. He hits the ball hard and has pop to his pull side, with his hit tool being graded a 60. His power tool sits at 50, while his run, arm, and field sit at 45 for an overall grade of 50.
Baseball America is a little higher on him, ranking him as their 10th-best international prospect. They also note that his hit tool is his best attribute and he’ll be developed at shortstop and may stick there. However, his power is a bit lacking, with Baseball America believing it’s doubles pop rather than over-the-fence pop.
As far as I can tell, there are no other top 50 international free agents the Blue Jays are linked to. However, the ninth-ranked prospect in the 2024 period, Kennew Blanco. was set to sign for the Jays. After it was revealed that he was 17 instead of 16, the Blue Jays backed out and as of the latest update, are expected to sign him this off-season.
Blanco is athletic, has good bat speed, makes smart decisions with his swings, and will probably stick at the position. That is if the Blue Jays still wish to sign him.
Of course, their plans could change when Rōki Sasaki is posted. The 23-year-old is expected to be posted soon and will be available to sign during the 2025 IFA period. Sasaki has ace potential written over him and every team is going to attempt to sign him, albeit the Los Angeles Dodgers are the front-runners.
With Sasaki’s talent, you have to imagine that it’s a no-brainer a team would break previous commitments. So while the Jays are expected to sign Polanco, don’t be surprised if they break it off if signing Sasaki becomes a possibility. They may also be able to sign a different top free agent if a different team faces the same scenario.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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