The Twins' influx of prospects from Latin America "reflects a major shift in Minnesota's scouting and development strategy," according to Pat Borzi in a special for USA TODAY. More than a decade of "being outmaneuvered for Latin American players prompted the Twins to beef up scouting and development efforts there in the mid-2000s." Now, 10 players on the team's 40-man roster "come from Caribbean countries." The Twins' move to Target Field in '10 and the creation of international bonus pools in '12 "put more money at the club’s disposal." Even before then, the Twins "made changes to be more competitive." Signing 3B Miguel Sano for the largest bonus in club history for an international player "gave the Twins credibility with buscones, the Dominican street agents who train top players." Twins VP/Player Personnel Mike Radcliff said, "I can tell you when we signed Sano, the buscones and the different agents and traders down there (knew) there was a new player in town. We automatically had access to players we never had before. Because when you make that kind of financial commitment to one player, everybody reacts to that." Borzi notes the Twins "were one of the last teams to open an academy in the Dominican Republic, in 2000, after operating one in Venezuela" since '95. Radcliff said that the Twins for years "assigned only one full-time scout to the Dominican and one to Venezuela." Once seven-figure bonus deals "became common, the Twins couldn’t keep pace." Radcliff: "Give ownership as much credit as anybody. They made the commitment to it when it was initially needed, and there you go. We’ve signed players for more than $3 million, $4 million." Borzi noted the Twins "are well-positioned in the Dominican with four full-time scouts, two part-timers and a modern new academy at the Las Americas complex in Boca Chica" (USA TODAY, 9/15).
