Yankees bizarrely flip script, re-sign top international prospect after broken pledge

What has happened to the New York Yankees' international pursuits over the past two months? It's anyone's guess, and we may never learn the full scope of the story. That became even clearer on Tuesday night, when another thing that does not normally happen happened ... and it actually favored the Yankees.

Everything in the IFA world is "unofficial" until it isn't/certain dates have passed. But for the most part, the pre-agreements that nobody is allowed to call "contracts" are ironclad and respected ... as long as the infrastructure that crafted them remains in place.

When the Yankees dismissed longtime director of international scouting Donny Rowland after his contract expired in November, they opened a hellmouth. Could the Yankees use a strategy pivot after a decade's worth of big-bonus misses? Absolutely. Could they afford to damage their relationships with the kingmakers in Latin American baseball, given that international free agency is one of very few amateur talent avenues that remains open to them (as long as they continue to select 44th in every draft)? No, not at all!

It didn't seem like dismissing Rowland would do that, but then they lost the toppers in their 2026 class, including purported megastar Wandy Asigen, who flipped to the Mets ... for less money than the Yankees had initially promised him. It's probable that the new regime tried to secure Asigen for less. For whatever reason, they thought that wouldn't offend him. It did.

The disasterclass didn't stop there, as a trio of top names left the Yankees' 2027 class in rapid succession this past weekend.

But on Tuesday, everything began to change. The Yankees promoted an internal hire to take over the department — which seemed like a lateral move to us outsiders — at which point one of the three prospects agreed to return to the fold next winter. Welcome back, Venezuelan shortstop Josneybert Vera! No word yet on the bonus amount (which, again, is unofficial until Jan. 2027).

Yankees reaffirm agreement with top 2027 international shortstop prospect Josneybert Vera

Obviously, the highest-probability outcome is that we never hear from Vera again. But if we do — and if he outperforms players the Yankees lost at higher dollar amounts, like Asigen (Mets) and Mairon De La Rosa (Mariners) — then the backtrack will be eternally funny.

Love @YankeesFarm pressing on De La Rosa, too. "Wait, you guys brought back one of the prospects whose agreement you just dissolved?!" "Yup." "Did you also bring back the better prospect you lost?" "Oh, definitely not."

The Yankees' list of recent international flops is still long, but at the very least, they seem to be returning to a state of normalcy rather than hemorrhaging extra talent and severing ties to the region forever. Perhaps, one day, they'll be Mr. Worldwide once again, instead of forcing us to yell, "Timber!" every time the news cycle refreshes.