Padres Announce Jorge Ona Signing

The Padres on Friday officially announced the signing of Cuban corner outfielder Jorge Ona.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but he reportedly received a $7 million bonus. Ona won’t play this year but the Padres hope to get him to the instructional league, as they plan to do the same with lefthander Adrian Morejon, who got an $11 million bonus. As they did with Morejon, Ona’s contract is structured as a 2017 contract. Provided Ona secures the necessary visa, he’ll head to Arizona in September for instructional league action.

Ona, 19, crushed the COPABE 18U Pan American Championship in September 2014 in Mexico, where he hit four home runs in eight games and went 14-for-22 to lead the tournament in batting average (.636) and slugging (1.364) and also walked eight times. At around 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Ona has a compact righthanded swing with good bat speed and plus raw power, showing the ability to drive the ball with authority to all fields. His arm is another above-average tool that fits well in right field.

It was at COPABE when Padres scouts took notice of him, with Preller calling Ona “as good an offensive force as there was in that tournament … guys didn’t want to pitch to him.”

“He has a strong body composition, a compact swing with a lot of strength and strike zone discipline,” Preller told reporters on a conference call. “He’s got ‘now’ strength, hits the ball very hard and has strike-zone discipline. He’s an advanced hitter. You’re going to get a guy with strength who understands how to swing the bat.”

Preller said it’s too soon to determine where Ona will play in 2017, saying there’s plenty of time to make that determination once Ona knocks off the rust and shows up in instructs.

The Padres skyrocketed past their international bonus pool when the 2016-17 signing period opened on July 2. The organization signed eight of Baseball America’s Top 50 international prospects, including three of the top six. Dominican shortstop Luis Almanzar (No. 2), Venezuelan shortstop Gabriel Arias (No. 4) and Dominican outfielder Jeisson Rosario (No. 6) were their most prominent signings.

Including overage taxes, they have committed more than $60 million to international players.