With Basallo’s big league debut nearing, Orioles’ international program showing strength

The Orioles haven’t signed a player from the Dominican Republic who played for them since 2011, and they’ve never signed a player from Venezuela who’s played for them in the majors.

Both are likely to change in the near future.

Since Koby Perez, the team’s vice president of international scouting and operations, came to the Orioles in early 2019, the team has become a presence in Latin America, and in January opened a state-of-the- art training complex in the Dominican Republic.

In MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Orioles prospects, 13 are international players.

The Orioles’ second-highest prospect and the 13^th overall in baseball is 20-year-old catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, who was signed in January 2021 and could make his major league debut this season.

“I thought his past year was a really good learning experience,” Perez said at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

Basallo hit a combined .278 with a .790 OPS with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs in 127 games at Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

“I think he learned a lot. I think he got better as the year went along,” Perez said. “It’s easy to envision him becoming a superstar in the big leagues. We’re hoping that comes sooner than later. The sooner, the better for us.”

As a 6-foot-4 catcher, Basallo faced initial difficulties. ‘

“His size was my concern with him because he’s just a big kid,” Perez said. “Sometimes they continue getting bigger, which he did and the flexibility goes away. In his case, it’s the opposite.

“He’s super flexible. He can do a full split, like a ballerina. He works hard. He’s an amazing worker. That leads me to believe with his arm strength, his flexibility and his determination that he’ll be a real good catcher in the future.”

Basallo could become the first Dominican player produced by the Orioles to play for them since infielder Pedro Florimon appeared in four games in 2011. They haven’t produced a Dominican pitcher since Daniel Cabrera played for them from 2004-2008.

“When you’re doing the international, especially with players out of Latin America, you’ve got to wait,” Perez said. “We’re signing them at 16.”

Perez said Basallo has grown emotionally, too.

“At 16 years old, he was still crying at times when things don’t go his way,” Perez said. “He’s growing. He’s getting stronger. His mindset is, he doesn’t want to be [just] a big leaguer. He wants to be the best big leaguer.

“His mindset is, ‘I want to be a Hall of Fame-type player.’ We like that. He keeps pushing himself. He’s not happy when it doesn’t go his way, but now he’s able to control it better. He’s becoming an adult, so things are going real good in that aspect.”

Besides Basallo, two international players who were traded — infielder César Prieto and right-hander Moisés Chace — are nearing the majors.

Prieto and left-hander Drew Rom were traded to St. Louis for Jack Flaherty in August 2023, and Chace was dealt along with right-hander Seth Johnson to Philadelphia for reliever Gregory Soto in August.

“We have other guys who are starting to get to the upper levels here,” Perez said. “The barrier breaks, then it starts to be like an every year-type thing.

“The first one is always like, you’re always anxious to start seeing these guys help us provide value on our club because we know others who will help us get players via trades, so you’re always happy that the players are being able to help [the front office] make decisions to help our big club.”

Nine of the 13 international prospects in the top 30 are from the Dominican — Basallo, left-hander Luis De Léon, 8^th; outfielders Stiven Martinez, 9^th, Thomas Sosa, 14^th and Braylin Tavera, 15^th; third baseman Joshua Liranzo, (19^th; infielder Leandro Arias, 20^th; shortstop Emilio Sanchez, 23^rd; and right-hander Esteban Mejia, 25^th.

Two are Venezuelan — right-hander Keeler Morfe, (26^th; and infielder Aron Estrada, 28^th.

Outfielder Jordan Sanchez, 27^th, was originally from Cuba.

Luis Almeyda, the 30^th-ranked prospect, was born and raised in New Jersey, but was signed as an international free agent in January 2023.

The Orioles are enthusiastic about the Dominican complex, and Perez said it was “amazing. Our team made the playoffs for the first time in a while. I felt like our prospects flourished.

“We felt like we had five or six different kids that have bright futures. Obviously we have 70 kids, but there were five or six that really stood out and should be coming along stateside, so we’re excited about the facility and everything that we’re able to offer there.”

Some of the players that Perez are highest on are Morfe, Mejia and Jordan Sanchez. “We are super excited about the group that we have down there,” Perez said.

The Orioles nearly had a Venezuelan-born make the majors, but left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was sent to Boston on July 31^st, 2014 in exchange for reliever Andrew Miller. Rodriguez has spent nine seasons in the majors with the Red Sox, Detroit and Arizona.

Morfe, an 18-year-old who was signed in 2023, has progressed to Single-A Delmarva, where he had a 6.75 ERA in eight games.

“Just how easy he throws the ball. It’s 100 mph he’s up to,” Perez said. “It’s not only the velocity. It’s how easy he does it. When that happens, there’s usually more in there, and it’s usually for a long time. We’re excited about him. It’s a hard slider. He’s a bulldog. He’s got a good chance to be a big prospect. This year is going to be a big year for him.”

The 2025 international signing period opens on January 15^th, and Perez likes the Orioles’ prospective class. Their allotment to spend on an estimated 12 players next year is $6,908,600.

“It’s starting to shape up pretty good,” Perez said. “We’re excited about the players. I feel like we’re going to spread it out a little more. We found a lot of good players.”

Notes: The Orioles hired Scott Barringer as their new head athletic trainer. He replaces Brian Ebel, who had been with the organization since 1995. For the last six seasons, Barringer had been head athletic trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers. …Left-hander Nick Vespi, who was 6-0 with a 3.98 ERA and a save in 45 games with the Orioles from 2022-2024, signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia that includes an invitation to spring training.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.