José Luis Peña sat for his introductory news conference with the Orioles, looking every bit the 16-year-old kid he is.

But he’s now also a millionaire.

Peña, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, headlined the Orioles’ 2025 international class as Baltimore opened MLB’s signing period Wednesday with 22 new prospects. Peña agreed to a $1 million signing bonus, a source with direct knowledge of the agreement confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

“I think they’re a really good organization,” Peña said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones during his Zoom news conference. “I think we have a lot of really good coaches here, and they’re constantly on top of you and they want you to continue to get better.”

Peña, who will turn 17 in August, is ranked as the No. 42 international prospect by Baseball America and is one of the youngest players signed by any MLB team this cycle. He has a projectable frame at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, and has a plus hit tool with power potential. He’s also one of the fastest players in the class, giving him the potential to stick at shortstop long term.

Baseball America was first to report Peña’s bonus — the type of financial commitment for a Latin American youngster rarely made by the Orioles as recently as five years ago. But that’s been different under Mike Elias and Koby Perez, and Peña is the latest example.

Through 2020, the Orioles had never given a seven-figure signing bonus to an international youngster, as the ballclub under former owner Peter Angelos did not prioritize the Latin American market. But the commitment made to Peña marks the fifth straight year the Orioles have given at least $1 million to an international prospect.

The first to receive a seven-figure bonus from the Orioles turned out to be an example of why the international market is worth investing in. The Orioles signed a 16-year-old Samuel Basallo — one of the youngest players in his class, like Peña — in 2021 and have watched him blossom into one of the best prospects in baseball. Other prospects signed to seven-figure deals in previous years include Emilio Sanchez ($1.3 million), Luis Almeyda ($2.3 million), Braylin Tavera ($1.7 million) and Maikol Hernández ($1.2 million).

Perez described Peña as a “plus runner” with a strong arm from shortstop.

“We think he has a chance to be average power in the future,” Perez said. “Any time you’re talking about a premium shortstop who’s an athlete and can run, and you’re projecting average power, it’s something to be excited about.”

Among the 21 other players the Orioles signed Wednesday are outfielder Johanse Gómez, shortstop Meykel Baro, shortstop Ronald Terrero, catcher Yeison Acosta, outfielder Lisandro Sancez, left-handed pitcher Kelvin Zapata and catcher Jose Flores. Eleven of the 22 youngsters are from the Dominican Republic, while six are from Venezuela, four are from Cuba and one is from St. Thomas. The class includes eight pitchers, five infielders, four outfielders and five catchers. One of those backstops is Ricardo Chirinos, the nephew of new Orioles bench coach and former Baltimore catcher Robinson Chirinos.

“I’m extremely excited about this class,” Perez said. “We spread out our dollars with the majority of players being from the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela. This process to get to today takes three years. It takes a lot of hard work from our scouts and everyone involved to get these deals done, and we feel that our talent within those 22 players is going to be really good and should show its way up our line, hopefully in the near future.”

In addition to Peña, Gómez and Baro are the other top members of Baltimore’s international class, signing for $750,000 and $500,000, respectively, according to the source. Baseball America, which was also first to report their signing bonuses, ranked them as the Nos. 66 and 86 players in the class, respectively.

Gómez, a 17-year-old outfielder with plus power from the left side, was signed out of St. Thomas, an uncommon location for baseball talent, but grew up in the Dominican Republic. Perez said the Orioles “feel good about the bat.” Perez also said Bara, a 16-year-old shortstop from Cuba, has “all the ingredients” to become a five-tool player.

Perez said the Orioles still have some money from their bonus pool, which was nearly $7 million before the period opened. Saving some money for the remainder of the period, which ends in December, can be beneficial, as some players remain in limbo with other organizations and end up going unsigned.

“Years ago, we signed César Prieto with the remaining amount that we had,” Perez said of the infielder they included in the trade to acquire pitcher Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2023 deadline. “Last year, we were able to do Jordan Sanchez, who’s one of our good prospects, with the remaining balance of our pool. So we always like to have some extra after this date.”

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