Did the Philadelphia Phillies just break the New York Yankees record? Looks like Venezuela is on fire in MLB.

First, it was the 13-year-old Venezuelan prospect, Albert Mejías, to agree to a $7 million pre-agreement with the Yankees. And now, we have another one, breaking the MLB pre-agreement history.

Reportedly, 11-year-old Venezuelan shortstop David Basabe has agreed to $1.8 M pre-agreement with the Phillies. While Mejías belonged to the 2030 class, this grade 6th student is a “part of the 2031 international class.”

Per Dan Clark, Basabe is “the youngest player in history to secure a MLB pre-agreement.”

Prior to these, the youngest, most notable international pre-agreements were generally restricted to players of 15 or 16 years old. They were eligible to sign during the international signing period, which begins on January 15 each year.

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A pre-agreement deal usually refers to a contract signed by a player during the “pre-arbitration” phase. The eligibility for the same includes the top 100 players in terms of the statistical measure “Joint WAR.” The following criteria have to be met, per the Pre-Arbitration Performance Bonus Program, covering 2022 through 2026, to receive the funds:

• Three years or less of Major League Service time and NOT qualified for salary arbitration as a Super Two.
• Three years or less of Major League Service time, and the ones who have signed multi-year agreements ARE eligible for the pool.
• Foreign Professionals or Extended Free Agents are NOT eligible.

The team generally offers a one-year salary above the league minimum to avoid the annual renewal process. These deals provide young players guaranteed money early while giving teams cost certainty and goodwill before arbitration.

Decoding the eligibility criteria, Basabe must have met the first point to crack a deal with the Phillies.

The Phillies are reputed for providing a structured pathway for young talent to develop into Major League-ready players, with intensive training, mentoring, and exposure to advanced technology. Their advanced scouting and metrics technique helps evaluate players’ progress, while they refine their skills and fundamentals with focused coaching.

The franchise can move prospects quickly, as evidenced by players like Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford. In fact, high-ranking prospects often participate in the Arizona Fall League to gain elite competition experience.

Now, should we be surprised if the Phillies break another record of Joe Nuxhall to be the youngest to debut (15 YO) in MLB back in 1944? Fans may not hype all over that!

The MLB world furious with the Phillies new pre-agreement deal

“So much talent in the United States, but MLB and NBA keeps going over seas,” read the very first comment. MLB is already filled with international players. Last season, the league’s roster featured 27.8% players outside of the USA, with the Dominican Republic leading the chart, followed by Venezuela and Cuba. The NBA roster features 135 international players for the 2025-26 season. And now, it looks like the communities across sports are getting frustrated.

Some even questioned the legality of the matter: “How is this even legal.” While 16 is the minimum age for a legal contract, unofficial verbal agreements (pre-agreements) are frequently made with much younger player. Probably, MLB itself can look into the new Phillies signee?

Then, there were some concerns, too. “Anyone involved with coaching young players knows a lot can happen between ages 11 and 18. I almost guarantee most of these deals won’t actually happen. Kids stop growing/ developing at all ages.”

But the sarcasm never stopped, as one directly asked the AI bot to explain it all. “@grok explain in detail how this deal works as the kid ages.”

“Sign Elmo’s 2 year old brother please,” joked another, referring to the famous Sesame Street character. Elmo’s age? 3½ years old.

Justified or not, the Philadelphia Phillies definitely turned some heads and upped some voices! What’s your reaction, though?