Pirates sign 2 Bahamian players, one for $350,000

The Pirates have signed Larry Alcime Jr., an outfielder from the Bahamas, for $350,000, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports. Given their international bonus pool, which is a bit over $2 million, this will be one of the Pirates' most significant moves of the international signing season, which opened today. Pirates Prospects notes that the Bucs also signed another player from the Bahamas, shortstop Kyle Simmons. His bonus is unknown at this time.

These are interesting signings, because the Bahamas generally doesn't produce much baseball talent -- there have only been a handful of MLB players born in the Bahamas, most recently little-known outfielder Antoan Richardson. (I'm sure it's a nice place to scout, though, and maybe it's appropriate that the Pirates are establishing a presence there.)

Anyway, it's also possible the Bucs also scouted Alcime in the Dominican or in the US. Here's some very shaky video of him playing in the Dominican, and here's some better video (you'll want to fast-forward to halfway through) of him taking some swings at Marlins Park. He's 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, and he's 16. He's gotten listings in a couple places (although he isn't in MLB.com's list of the top 30 international prospects), so this signing doesn't come completely out of nowhere.