Herrera signs with White Sox for $1.8 million

The White Sox signed four international free agents on Wednesday and one of them has big-time potential.

Eduardo Herrera, a 17-year-old third baseman from Venezuela, agreed to a $1.8 million signing bonus.

While he's not expected to play for a minor-league team in the Sox's system until 2025, Herrera should be worth the wait.

“We did not hesitate to go after him aggressively when it came to having the opportunity to sign him,” said Marco Paddy, the White Sox's director of international operations. “In comparison to other guys we've signed in the past, most of the times when you get a guy that's a power guy, you always question his full ability as a hitter. But in the case of this young man, he's shown the ability to recognize and adjust. We had no doubt about his ability as a hitter.”

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Herrera played for the Venezuelan U18 national team at the age of 15.

“He played in a tournament in Mexico against good competition and did extremely well as a 15-year-old playing with 18-year-old kids,” Paddy said. “Once we got all the information together and the evaluations, the looks, the at-bats, the time on the ground with him and knowing him as a person, we decided to move forward. We're happy to have this young man become part of the Chicago White Sox organization.”

Jurdick Profar was Wednesday's other notable international signing.

The 16-year-old infielder from Curacao is the brother of outfielder Jurickson Profar, who has played 10 major-league seasons.

“You look at (Jurdick) Profar and he doesn’t profile like his brother,” Paddy said of the 6-foot, 190-pounder. “He’s going to be a bigger, stronger kid and actually reminds me of Jonathan Schoop. He can play all over the infield.”