The New York Yankees face setbacks in the international player market as a top prospect commits to the Mariners next year.

Recently, multiple reports emerged of Latin American players withdrawing their verbal agreements with the New York Yankees on the international free agent market. Among them, highly ranked prospect Mairon De La Rosa, expected to be one of the top signees in next year’s international signing period, ended his deal with the Yankees and, just one day later, confirmed his commitment to the Seattle Mariners. This means the Mariners will have two of the top three prospects in next year’s signing class.

Just a few days ago, news broke that the Yankees had reached a verbal agreement for a $7 million signing bonus with 13-year-old Venezuelan prospect Albert Mejías. However, according to Wilber Sanchez on social media, the Yankees lost three prospects who had previously agreed to terms within 24 hours, including De La Rosa, a Dominican switch-hitting shortstop originally set to sign for $4.3 million once the international signing period opened on January 15 next year.

De La Rosa was initially considered the Yankees’ top target for next year’s international signing period. Rumors on social media suggest the Yankees may have criticized De La Rosa too harshly in an attempt to lower the originally promised signing bonus, which led to his decision not to sign with the team. However, this rumor has not been confirmed.

One day later, Wilber Sanchez and Francys Romero, among other reporters, confirmed that De La Rosa had reached a verbal agreement with the Mariners to sign for a $3.8 million bonus in January next year. Sanchez noted that although De La Rosa reportedly received higher offers, he still chose to join the Mariners. In addition to him, the Mariners are also set to sign fellow Dominican Eudi Yuten for $4 million. Reports indicate these two players are expected to rank among the top three signing bonuses in next year’s class.