Imago
July 12, 2024, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA: Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt 12 watches players take the field ahead of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Friday, July 12, 2024. St. Petersburg USA – ZUMAs70_ 0710430177st Copyright: xJeffereexWoox
Imago
July 12, 2024, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA: Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt 12 watches players take the field ahead of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Friday, July 12, 2024. St. Petersburg USA – ZUMAs70_ 0710430177st Copyright: xJeffereexWoox
Just before the start of the 2026 season, MLB teams lined up offering pre-agreements to a few international talents. And the surprising part was that most of them were minors and not ready to play before 2029. While that sounds cool, things didn’t go as planned.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Allegations like PED usage and lying about age started coming into light. The Phillies were a victim of the same, and now the Guardians are the next.
“The Cleveland Guardians canceled the $2.8 million agreement they had with Dominican prospect David Severino after it was discovered that he was two years older than initially reported. Severino was originally eligible to sign in the 2029 international class. But after the investigation, it was determined that he actually belongs to the 2027 class, which led to the agreement being terminated,” MLB insider Wilbar Sanchez shared via X.
Top Stories
Switch-hitter Severino was last seen training in the Jaime Ramos Baseball Academy. Originally, he was presented as a teenager. He was eligible to sign on the 1/15/29 signing day. Now, he is reclassified for eligibility to sign on the upcoming 1/15/27 signing day.
A two-year age gap might not sound like a big deal, but it completely ruins a team’s scouting and budget.
MLB teams only get a set amount of money to spend on international players. If a team blows a massive chunk of that cash on a player they think is 14, they are paying for his future growth.
However, if that player turns out to be 16, he is almost an adult. Compared to the younger kids he will be playing against, he will look incredible, which in turn will trick the scouts. This also wastes the team’s budget and chance to sign a top talent.
Last March, the Philadelphia Phillies had to suspend a minor for testing positive for PEDs.
SOURCE: The Cleveland Guardians canceled the $2.8 million agreement they had with Dominican prospect David Severino after it was discovered that he was two years older than initially reported.
Severino was originally eligible to sign in the 2029 international class, but after… pic.twitter.com/AM2Mjn7ynO
— Wilber Sánchez (@wilberdata) May 15, 2026
“The Phillies have canceled the $1.3 million pre-agreement they had with their top international prospect from the 2029 class after the player tested positive for banned substances,” Sanchez reported back then.
The minors from the Caribbean and Latin American region are racing against time to secure a deal with an MLB team.
Last year, an investigative report by Diario Libre sports editor Nathanel Perez Nero revealed an uneasy truth.
In one case, the parents of a 10-year-old tried to negotiate a $300,000 upfront payment from a trainer in exchange for a massive cut of his future MLB bonus.
Another incident was reported about a Dominican kid who would be eligible to play in MLB in 2029. A trainer paid $80,000 to his parents in 2023 to amp him up. That kid secured a pre-agreement of around $4 million, guaranteeing the trainer a huge percentage of the money.
All these add up to the fact that kids are doing anything and everything to secure an MLB deal. In doing so, they are either lying about their age or taking up PED substances to build up.
The Cincinnati Reds recently reached a $2.8 million deal with 12-year-old outfielder Julio Ramos for the 2030 signing class. The Texas Rangers also made a $4 million agreement with 12-year-old Andel Pérez for the 2030 class.
The list is long, which is creating an unethical trend in these countries. However, for the Guardians, dealing with falsified documents is practically seeing history repeat itself.
The Guardians are no strangers to these lies
This is not the first time that a Guardians player has lied about his age.
Remember Roberto Hernandez?
He originally signed with the Indians (Guardians) as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Later. It was reported that he used a falsified birth certificate. The documents claimed his name was Fausto Carmona and that he was born in 1983.
Then, in January 2012, he was arrested in the Dominican Republic for identity theft after attempting to renew his U.S. visa. It was revealed that his true name was Roberto Hernandez Heredia, and he was actually born in 1980, making him three years older than he had claimed.
Following his arrest and the revelation of his true identity, MLB officially issued him a three-week suspension for age and identity fraud in July 2012. Since then, the league has become stricter about verification protocols.
They use background checks, document verification, and in some cases, even DNA testing.
Coincidentally, both Hernandez and the Guardians’ latest minor talent are from the Dominican Republic.
Countries like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico serve as launchpads for the new baseball talents. Reportedly, during the 2024-2025 international signing period, a total of 464 players were signed. Among them, 209 were Venezuelans, and 201 were Dominicans.
Securing an MLB contract has become a socio-economic factor in these countries. And with teams like the Guardians, Phillies, and Reds offering multi-million dollar deals, things may only be getting worse.
Written by
Edited by
Arunaditya Aima