Yankees reportedly steal top international shortstop from rival Astros

The New York Yankees' farm system will eternally be held back by their draft position (well, we hope). Luckily, they continue to make hay annually on the international market, fortifying their core with developing stars like Jasson Dominguez, Roderick Arias, Brando Mayea and Henry Lalane.

Sure, a few of those guys seem a bit more "surefire" than the others, but credit the Yankees for always taking a bite at the apple -- and, occasionally, other peoples' apples.

International deals are always estimated until they become official and, according to the rumor mill, the Yankees caught the Astros sleeping on Wednesday and swiped one of their top targets.

Carlos Bello, a shortstop in the incoming 2025 class of international free agents, appears to have landed in the Yankees' camp after his verbal agreement with the Astros dissolved (for whatever reason).

Yankees reportedly poach top Astros International Free Agent signing Carlos Bello

Unfortunately, based on what we know about the 2025 international signing period, that might mean Houston is welching on a few of their commitments to have a fuller pool for the Roki Sasaki market. Come on, Padres! Get that done!

According to the source that initially broke this news, Bello -- who's almost absent from the internet -- would rank among the top "five or six" names the Yankees currently have lined up in this class. As if that wasn't joyful enough news, the Yankees have another, larger win lined up 14 months from now; those in the know believe they're going to sign Wandy Asigen, the possible top prospect in 2026's class. He's a shortstop, for now, but we all know how quickly that can change as players mature.

Soon, the Yankees' focus will shift back towards maximizing the talents of the players currently in their purview, working to turn names like Mayea and Lalane from lottery tickets into contributors. It's always good to see the pipeline functioning as expected well below the surface, though, and it never hurts to see the Astros on the butt end of a fleecing.

We'd rather it take place at the MLB level, but this ranks as more exciting than Taylor Trammell, in our opinion. So that's something.