Phillies sign top-50 international prospect with family ties to MVP winner

With the international signing period open since Wednesday, the Phillies have inked shortstop Nieves Izaguirre, MLB Pipeline’s No. 44 prospect in this year’s international class, to an $800,000 deal.

Izaguirre, a 17-year-old from Venezuela, is a 5-foot-10 right-handed hitter known for his bat-to-ball skills and athleticism. Baseball America described him as having “a short, line-drive swing with doubles power and plus speed.”

Baseball America likens his skillset to that of Luisangel Acuña, which perhaps is no coincidence. Luisangel — and, obviously, his superstar brother Ronald Acuña Jr. — are cousins to Izaguirre, as MLB.com’s Jesse Borek covered, and are two of over 60 relatives to Izaguirre who have played professional baseball.

These international signings are often agreed upon well in advance and immediately made official once that player is eligible and the signing period is underway. That’s to say, the Phillies signing Izaguirre wasn’t a surprise:

The Phillies are expected to sign SS Nieves Izaguirre when the International Signing Period starts on January 15th.

Izaguirre is a cousin of Ronald Acuna Jr. pic.twitter.com/cECz9MGYEb

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) November 26, 2024

Ben Badler has a tracker with every team’s international signings, of which the Phillies currently have 16. Here’s that list (subscription required), plus some notes on the top names.

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