Mariners Top All MLB Clubs With $6.47M In Int'l Amateur Player Bonuses

The Mariners spent an estimated $6.47M in signing international amateur players this offseason, tops among all MLB clubs, according to data compiled by BASEBALL AMERICA. The club had five of the 30 highest international bonuses this offseason, including $2.2M given to Dominican OF Phillips Castillo. That bonus is tied as the 12th-largest bonus ever given to an international amateur. The Yankees were second among all MLB clubs, spending $5.27. The Blue Jays gave the largest bonus of the offseason, $2.8M to Venezuelan P Adonys Cardona. That ranks as the fourth-largest international amateur bonus of all time and a record for a Venezuela-born player. Only one non-Latino player -- South Korean P Jin-Young -- received a bonus that ranked in the top 30 this year, with the Cubs giving him $850,000 (15th overall). Listed below are international amateur player bonus expenditures for MLB teams this offseason, as well as the top international amateur player bonuses of all time (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 3/2).

NOTES: List excludes Cuban defectors who competed at that country's highest level. Numbers include bonuses for prospects who have agreed to terms but are still pending official approval.