Elian Peña Headlines Mets' 2025 International Signings; No. 3 International Prospect

On the first day of MLB's international signing period, the New York Mets agreed to deals with 15 players.

The Mets announced the deals on Wednesday, headlined by 17-year-old shortstop Elian Peña.

Per MLB.com, Peña is the No. 3 overall player in the international class with his hit tool being cited as his "calling card."

Dan Martin of the New York Post confirmed that Peña received a $5 million signing bonus from the Mets, who had a $6.3 million bonus pool.

The only players ranked ahead of Peña on the MLB.com list of international free agents are Rōki Sasaki and Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez.

Sasaki has a Jan. 23 deadline to agree to terms with an MLB club or go back to the Chiba Lotte Marines for the 2025 season. There's no indication he won't get a deal done, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays the three finalists.

De Jesus Gonzalez received a $3 million signing bonus from the San Francisco Giants, per Baseball America's Ben Badler.

The $5 million price tag for Peña could end up being the highest amount for any player in the international class after Sasaki. The Blue Jays and Padres both have $6.3 million in bonus money available, while the Dodgers have $5.1 million.

Teams are allowed to acquire up to 60 percent of their bonus pool money via trades, but all trades for bonus money have to be done in increments of $250,000.

While it's plausible teams won't use all of their bonus money on the first day, a majority of agreements and signings for the top-level international free agents will be done on Wednesday.

Along with having a plus hit tool, Peña is also regarded for having plus fielding ability as a shortstop. MLB.com cited him as having "the actions and feel" for short, along with smooth hands that "make it likely" he will play most of his time at the position.

Peña and the other members of the international free-agent class will join a Mets farm system led by right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat, outfielder Jett Williams and outfielder Drew Gilbert.