Under the previous CBA, the Mets gave $2 million-plus signing bonuses to No. 1 prospect Francisco Álvarez and No. 3 prospect Ronny Mauricio.

Today’s subject, No. 7 prospect Alex Ramirez, agreed to a $2.05 million signing bonus out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Why the Mets signed Ramirez

Ramirez was the 26th-ranked international prospect in the 2019 class according to MLB Pipeline. With the international market, a lot of these deals are rumored to be agreed to for months before they actually become official, normally every July 2.

In 2018, then-Mets international scouting director Chris Becerra, who has since left for the Boston Red Sox, got his eyes on Ramirez and loved the athlete. He wrote a glowing report of the type of prospect he thought Ramirez was.

The Mets then sent in Steve Barningham, who succeeded Becerra as international scouting director, to take a look -- and he followed up with an equally glowing report. This led to vice president of international and amateur scouting Tommy Tanous flying down to the Dominican Republic to get eyes on their future $2 million investment.

What stood out to the Mets immediately was his plus speed and effortless ability to track the ball off the bat in center field. There was little organizational doubt that Ramirez had the ability to play center field at a high level going forward.

Offensively, he was a wiry, strong and projectable athlete with a good swing path to the ball that they believed would lead to plus bat-to-ball skills as he developed.

Scouting Report

Ramirez has been described to me as a “toolshed” who is the only prospect in the system who shows potential in all five tools. He still needs physical maturation, which is normal for an 18-year-old. He is currently listed at 6-foot-3 and 170 lbs, but between offseason weight training and natural growth, he should report to 2022 spring training as a bigger and stronger player.

Despite his frame, he still flashed above average power, including this home run in June that went 442 feet and had an exit velocity of 103 mph...

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