The Seattle Mariners have been one of the more active teams in the international scouting department. Several of the team's prospects, including outfielder Lazaro Montes and infielders Michael Arroyo and Felnin Celesten, have come via the international signing period.

The Mariners' current face of the franchise, outfielder Julio Rodriguez, was another signing in the international signing period.

Seattle isn't far removed from bringing in its most recent wave of international players. The 2026 period opened Jan. 15 and the Mariners inked notable prospects such as outfielders Juan Rijo and Gregory Pio.

Seattle's international scouting department has earned a solid reputation, and, apparently, it already has an eye turned toward the recruiting classes of the next decade.

According to a report from Ismael Hernández de Dios for MSN.com, the Mariners have a preemptive agreement to sign 13-year-old Venezuelan prospect Dylan Perez to a $3.7 million contract.

Perez's age would mean he's not able to be officially signed until the 2030 international signing period.

Although not technically allowed per MLB rules, teams often agree to verbal terms with players on a contract months, if not years, before they're eligible to sign. 

According to the report, Perez has received comparisons to current New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto.

Soto, famously, signed the largest contract in North American sports history with the Mets last offseason: a 15-year, $765 million contract.

A tweet from Wilber Sanchez on "X" (@wilberdata) referred to Perez as "(The) best Venezuelan hitter of his generation, the Juan Soto of Venezuela, but with more tools."

According to another post on "X" from Sanchez on Jan. 2, Perez already has an exit velocity of over 90 mph and registered a 6.8-second mark in the 60-yard dash.

Rodriguez posted an average exit velocity of 91.8 mph in 2025, per Baseball Savant.

Seattle's top overall prospect, Colt Emerson, had a 6.77-second 60-yard dash on his Perfect Game profile in July 2022, a year before he was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft.

The physical tools are impressive for Perez. Even still, receiving comparisons to the player that recently signed the richest deal ever in baseball are lofty for a kid who is barely a teenager.

But, if Perez ends up with a career even half as successful as Soto's, the Mariners will likely consider it money well-spent.

Since making his major league career in 2018 with the Washington Nationals, Soto has made the All-Star game four times, won a World Series once (2019), has been named first-team All-MLB four times, has won the Silver Slugger award six times and has led the National League in both batting average (2020) and stolen bases (2025) once, respectively.

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