Pittsburgh Review

The Pittsburgh Pirates are planning a significant restructuring of their scouting team this winter, as they will not renew the contract of Junior Vizcaino, the director of international scouting. Vizcaino has held this position since December 2017, succeeding Rene Gayo, who was dismissed for receiving improper payments.

During his tenure, Vizcaino helped restore credibility to the Pirates' standing in the international market and contributed to the development of their Dominican facilities, which are now considered among the best in baseball. Despite these efforts, the Pirates have struggled to produce enough Major League players from the international market under Vizcaino's leadership.

General Manager Ben Cherington explained the decision: “Bottom line is we felt like to get better in this space and to produce more, it was time to make a change,” he told MLB.com. “It’s a hard market. We know that you work your tail off to scout a player, sign a player; it’s going to take years before you really know the answer. But we felt like we had enough time, enough classes to get a sense of what we were getting. We made the decision that we had to get better, and a change was necessary to do that.”

Cherington also acknowledged Vizcaino's contributions: “I think Junior is really a hardworking, loyal, proud scout who worked really hard for the Pirates,” he said. “He did some things really well and came into a situation prior to me being here that was in need of some attention and credibility, and he brought that attention and credibility.”

Vizcaino’s contract will expire at the end of December. His departure does not indicate further major changes on the international scouting front at this time.

Currently, only three players on Pittsburgh's 40-man roster were signed as international free agents: right-hander Luis Ortiz, infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae, and infielder Tsung-Che Cheng (who has yet to appear in the Majors). Bae and Ortiz are among those signed during Vizcaino’s tenure who reached Major League status with Pittsburgh. Several other players signed by Vizcaino were used in trades.

In Minor League prospects within MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 list whom they signed as international free agents include shortstop Yordany De Los Santos (No. 13), Cheng (No. 18), infielder Jhonny Severino (No. 19), first baseman/outfielder Tony Blanco Jr. (No. 20), outfielder Shalin Polanco (No. 22), catcher Omar Alfonzo (No. 26) and outfielder/first baseman Edward Florentino (No. 29).

A search for a new director will commence soon; whoever takes over will inherit top-notch facilities in the Dominican Republic along with substantial resources from their international signing bonus pool.

The current international signing period concludes on Dec. 15 with a new one beginning Jan. 15, 2025; next year’s pool amounts to $6,908,600—placing them within one of the largest bonus pools available.

This marks another change within Pittsburgh's scouting department following Joe DelliCarri's promotion to vice president of scouting last year and Justin Horowitz's hiring as director of amateur scouting last November.