It began in March when the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees to the punch when they signed highly-touted 21-year-old Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to a four-year contact worth $10-million (U.S.).
The American League club's renewed commitment to combing Latin America for burgeoning baseball talent continued on Tuesday when Toronto announced it had spent an additional $3.5-million to sign two 16-year-old Venezuelan prospects.
"We've covering every inch of the world trying to get the best players for the Toronto Blue Jays," Marco Paddy, the Blue Jays' director of Latin American operations, said during a telephone conference call.
Adonis Cardona and Gabriel Cenas are the newest Latin American additions to the Blue Jays organization.
Cardona is considered one of the best young pitching prospects in Venezuela, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-hander who has been linked to the Blue Jays for several weeks. He agreed to a signing bonus worth $2.8-million.
Cenas is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-handed-hitting third baseman. His signing bonus was $700,000.
Both players will begin their professional career playing for the Blue Jays in the Dominican Summer League.
Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the monetary outlay for Cardona represents the highest signing bonus the Blue Jays have ever spent on an amateur Latin American prospect.
"In the past, we wouldn't have been able to be a player for someone who signs for $2-million or $3-million or $4-million," Anthopoulos said. "I don't think we were set up that way."
When he took over control of the club from J.P. Ricciardi at the end of last season, Anthopoulos said one of his priorities was to strengthen the Blue Jays through the draft and international free-agent signings.
Anthopoulos has almost doubled the size of the scouting departing to about 70 people with a mindset to show the rest of baseball that Toronto will be competitive when it comes to going after young baseball talent, no matter in what part of the world they play.
"I think being very aggressive in the Latin American market is important to us," Anthopoulos said.
The Blue Jays were among the finalists earlier this year for Cuban pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman, who eventually signed with Cincinnati for $30.25-million over six years
Signing players who are so young can be a risky business, Anthopoulos agreed.
"You're dealing with a 16-year-old, there's an element of risk," he said. "But if you don't take any of these chances, you don't sign any of these players, you never have a chance to get the high-impact players, the high-ceiling players.
"In a lot of ways, it's a lot like buying a stock."
Paddy described Cardona as a very good athlete who has a special arm and is very focused when it comes to developing himself into a professional baseball player.
As for Cenas, he said the youngster has a strong bat and an ability to be able to play third base with a lot of natural skills.
Paddy said that the Blue Jays have always been serious when it comes to the scouting of Latin American players.
"I just think that now we have the ammunition to get the job done," he said.