Eduardo Herrera quickly made an impression on Marco Paddy, the special assistant to the general manager, international operations, for the Chicago White Sox.
“When I saw him for the first time his strength, the way he played the game, his ability to compete, how polished he was as a hitter, I couldn’t help but to be attracted by this kid’s ability,” Paddy said during a video conference call.
The Sox have agreed to terms with the third baseman, one of four international signings announced Wednesday.
Herrera, 17, is the No. 11 international prospect according to MLB Pipeline. His deal includes a $1,800,000 signing bonus. The native of San Felipe, Venezuela, played for the Venezuelan U18 National Team at the age of 15.
“From a makeup standpoint, he’s a very good competitor, he knows to work on his body, spends a lot of time working on his body, strength and physical conditioning and things of that nature,” Paddy said. “As a competitor, we had opportunities to see him play for the Venezuelan national team. He played in a tournament in Mexico against good competition and he did extremely well as a 15-year-old playing with 18-year-old kids.
“Once we got all the information together and the evaluations, the looks, the at-bats, the time on the ground with him and knowing him as a person, we decided to move forward and we’re happy to have this young man become part of the Chicago White Sox organization.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Herrera bats and throws right-handed.
“We did not hesitate to go after him aggressively when it came to having the opportunity to sign him,” Paddy said. “In comparison to other guys we’ve signed in the past, most of the times when you get a guy that’s a power guy, you always question his full ability as a hitter. But in the case of this young man, he’s shown the ability to recognize (and) adjust. So we had no doubt about his ability as a hitter.”
The Sox also signed infielders Jurdrick Profar ($600,000) and Jesús Premoli ($550,000) and right-handed pitcher Jeziel Boekhoudt ($55,000).
The 6-foot-0, 190-pound Profar, 16, is the brother of longtime major leaguer Jurickson Profar — who spent 2023 with the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. A native of Willemstad, Curaçao, Jurdrick Profar throws and bats right-handed.
“You look at Profar and he doesn’t profile like his brother,” Paddy said. “He’s going to be a bigger, stronger kid and actually reminds me of Jonathan Schoop. That type of kid. He can play all over the infield. Profar has excellent hands and feet to play shortstop.
“He’s going to get bigger, stronger and shortstop might not be a fit. He plays second base extremely well. He has the ability to play third base, too.”
A left-handed hitting former catcher, Premoli now plays third and first base. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound 17-year-old is a native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Boekhoudt, 17, is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and also a native of Willemstad, Curaçao.
Expect more international signings to be announced in the coming weeks.
“Jan. 15 is the first day they can sign but this is a process that may take a couple months,” Paddy said. “Once we sign those kids we know the job is complete but yes, the intent is to sign more guys that we have already pretty much agreed on.”
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