Dominican shortstop Wandy Asigen will sign with the Mets when the 2026 international free agent signing period begins on Jan. 15, according to news originally broken by Francys Romero and confirmed by multiple industry sources. Considered one of the top talents in the 2026 international free agent class, ranked fourth on Baseball America’s 2026 International Prospect Bonus Committee and No. 2 on MLB.com’s 2026 International Prospect Rankings, the 16-year-old center infielder is widely regarded as an impactful performer with the bat and glove.
Assigan was initially linked to the Yankees and reached a verbal agreement with them for a $4.3 million signing bonus, but recently backed out of the handshake agreement. It’s unclear whether his decision had to do with the Yankees not having a director of international scouting since choosing not to renew former director Donnie Rowland’s expiring contract, Rowland himself being fired or other factors.
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Such informal agreements are an important part of the current international free agent signing process. After seeing players as young as 12 or 13 years old working out in front of scouts, evaluators and executives, teams began honing in on individuals and offering them informal verbal agreements for guaranteed future money, since the legal age allowing players to sign professional contracts is 16. With these agreements, players typically withdraw from public displays and performances, making them “banned” from other organizations in an unspoken gentleman’s agreement. Teams often renege on such agreements when it suits them—former Mets farmhand Willie Farnas once had the Los Angeles Angels renege on an agreement with him, prompting him and another spurned minor leaguer to file a lawsuit against the team in a Dominican court—but a player as deemed valuable as Assigan rarely reneges on an agreement.
According to reports, while the $3.8 million bonus Asigan will receive is substantial, it will not exceed the $5 million bonus Elian Pena received last season. However, this would be the second-highest bonus given to an international prospect, with Yovani Rodriguez ($2.85, 2024), Francisco Alvarez ($2.7, 2018) and Ronny Mauricio ($2.1, 2017) rounding out the organization’s top 5.
Before reaching a verbal agreement with Assigan, the Mets’ most sought-after player was Venezuelan third baseman Josue Chacoa, who was expected to sign for more than $2 million. Earlier this year, an MLB investigation uncovered discrepancies in Chakoa’s paperwork, ultimately finding that Chakoa had misrepresented his identity and that Chakoa was older than initially claimed (18 instead of 16), so the deal was canceled and the player suspended. It appears that it was the money freed up by the failed Chacoa trade that gave the Mets the bonus pool money to sign Asigan. With a bonus limit of $5,440,000, the Mets are one of the four teams with the smallest bonus pools in the upcoming international free agent signing period, along with the Houston Astros, Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
Aside from Asigan, the next most highly sought-after player currently linked to the Mets is Cleiner Ramirez, an outfielder from Venezuela who is ranked No. 20 on Baseball America’s International Prospect Bonus Committee list and No. 23 on MLB.com’s 2026 international prospect rankings. Excluding Assigan’s reported $3.8 million signing bonus, the team will have only $1.6 million to allocate to Kleiner Ramirez and any other international prospects they are interested in.
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While the signing of Elian Pena can’t really be credited to director of international scouting James Kang, as the dynamic infielder initially agreed to unofficial terms with the Mets while Steve Barningham took the job, turning to a deal with Assigan is a major coup and feather in his cap, and hopefully one of many in the coming years.