According to Jack Curry of the Yes Network, less than a week after signing a minor-league deal with the Yankees, outfielder Billy McKinney has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for international bonus pool money. Throughout his career, McKinney has struggled to live up to his first-round draft pick status. Since his debut in 2018, McKinney has only appeared in 311 major league games—unsurprising considering his career slash line of .209/.284/.390 and an OPS+ of 82. Last season was slightly better in New York, .227/.320/.406, but his lack of consistency and the Yankees’ newly acquired outfield depth have shifted his value to that of a trade-piece. Several factors make this a smart trade for the Yankees and the Pirates. On the Yankees’ end, today marks the last day of the 2023 international signing period and the final opportunity for teams to sign international amateur talent. Pittsburgh likely had bonus pool money left and knew they could leverage that in a trade to address roster gaps of their own—namely, their lack of outfield depth. When Pittsburgh’s presumptive catcher, Endy Rodriguez, revealed he would undergo UCL surgery that would bench him for the 2024 season, Henry Davis became the Pirates’ best option. Since Davis primarily played right field last year, acquiring Billy McKinney adds additional depth. And because of how McKinney’s Yankees contract was structured, he will not immediately be on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, leaving Pittsburgh with options like Connor Joe, Ji Hwan Bae, or Canaan Smith-Njigba.
International Bonus Pool Money
There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding international bonus pool money—what is it, and how is it used? International bonus pool money is allocated to teams in proportion to their revenue and market size—the smaller the market, the more money they receive. Teams then use this money to sign players during the international amateur free agency period from January 15th to December 15th. The point to remember is that this money is for amateur free agents. In other words, players are eligible for the draft if they are outside the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico and are at least 16 years old or will turn 16 before September 1 of the signing period.
Many Yankees fans think the purpose of the trade was to help sign Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, fellow NPB All-Star reliever Yuki Matsui, or Japan’s WBC starting pitcher Shota Imanaga. None of these scenarios, however, are possible because these players have all spent time in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Because Major League Baseball recognizes NPB as a professional league, NPB players cannot be acquired using international bonus money.
“…foreign professionals—defined as players who are at least 25 years of age and have played as a professional in a foreign league recognized by Major League Baseball for a minimum of six seasons—maintain exemption from the international bonus pool.”
mlb.com
In other words, if an athlete has played professionally, this money cannot be used for their signing.
While this doesn’t sound exciting, here are a few players who have been signed using international bonus pool money: Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto, Julio Urías, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Ketel Marte, Gleyber Torres, and Ozzie Albies, to name a few. There is no doubt that future stars of Major League Baseball are being signed using international bonus pool money. Given the Yankees’ revenue and market size, additional bonus pool money will only help the team as it looks to sign the best possible talent.
