With the new year underway and spring training rapidly approaching, another important offseason milestone is set to arrive for Major League Baseball organizations: The opening of the annual International Signing Period.

For the Los Angeles Dodgers, the upcoming window represents an opportunity to continue investing in long-term talent development, even as the franchise balances championship expectations at the major league level.

The 2026 International Signing Period is scheduled to begin on Thursday, January 15, and will remain open through mid-December. During this timeframe, clubs are permitted to officially sign eligible amateur players from countries outside the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

To qualify, players must be at least 16 years old at the time of signing and turn 17 before the following September, while also being properly registered with Major League Baseball.

One of the more complex aspects of the international signing process is its long lead time. Many players verbally commit to organizations years before they are eligible to sign, but those agreements remain unofficial until the signing period opens.

As a result, teams often enter the window with a strong sense of how their bonus pool funds will be allocated, even if the deals cannot be formalized until January.

Each of MLB’s 30 teams receives a predetermined international bonus pool, with the specific allotments announced during the previous spring. These pools can be adjusted based on a club’s activity in free agency.

Teams that sign a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer see their pool reduced by $500,000, while clubs that exceed the Competitive Balance Tax threshold face a $1 million reduction under the same circumstances.

For the Dodgers, those rules help explain why their available pool sits at $6,679,200 for the 2026 cycle. While that figure places Los Angeles in the lower half of the league, it is not among the smallest allotments. Several teams are operating with pools under $6 million, while others fall even lower, creating a wide disparity in spending power across the league.

Despite not having one of the largest bonus pools, the Dodgers remain consistently aggressive in the international amateur market. Their scouting infrastructure and long-term planning have allowed them to identify talent early and maximize value within financial constraints.

However, the organization did allocate a significant portion of its international resources last offseason to Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, limiting flexibility for the current cycle.

Even so, the Dodgers are expected to make at least one notable addition. Earlier this week, Baseball America’s Ben Badler released his annual ranking of the top 50 international prospects and their projected signing destinations.

Among those players, the Dodgers were linked to Rubel Arias, a 17-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic. Arias is viewed as a promising athlete with upside, fitting the Dodgers’ longstanding emphasis on toolsy position players in the international market.

While the splash signings often grab headlines, the international signing period is ultimately about patience and projection. For a franchise like the Dodgers, success in this space helps sustain competitiveness well beyond the current roster, ensuring that future waves of talent continue to support the organization’s championship ambitions.

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