There are only a handful of Brazilian-born players who have played at the Major League Baseball level. None of them have ever played for the Boston Red Sox, which extended one of the biggest signing bonuses ever to a player from that country.
Claudio Pereira started his journey on Thursday to become the sixth MLB player from Brazil. He signed a $500,000 signing-bonus contract with the Red Sox as the International Signing Process started on January 15.
“We started to follow him in Brazil and then he came to the Dominican Republic, which made things easier for us,” an international scout told El Emergente, requesting anonymity. “He has a lot of skills to become a starter in the future. He is 6-foot-5. We need to work with him to make him physically stronger.”
Claudo Pereira traveled to the Dominican Republic to sign his first professional contract on Thursday along with all the players from the 2025–26 class.
“He has a great feel for three pitches,” the scout added in Spanish. “We project that he can be a starter for us once he develops within our pitching program. We only need to work on making him stronger and helping him become more powerful.”
There is only one Brazilian-born player who has received a larger signing bonus through the International Signing Process, according to available information.
Luiz Gohara signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2013 for $800,000.
READ MORE:How Latin America became the backbone of the Red Sox farm system
The Red Sox chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, traveled to the Dominican Republic to be part of the International Signing Process just a few hours after signing Ranger Suárez to a five-year deal. It is not common to see a top baseball executive attend the international signing process in person. Sources told El Emergente that it has happened only a few times.
Photo: @beisebolmafora
