Brewers sign 2026 international free agent with similar skillset to former top prospect

It's international free agent signing day in Major League Baseball. Today is the day when the window to officially sign international free agents opens, and as a result, many talented young prospects have formally signed deals with the MLB organizations that they have already agreed to join once they were a certain age. The prospects who are at least 16 years old and will turn 17 before September 1 of this year are eligible to officially put pen to paper and start competing for their respective MLB team's minor league affiliates.

The only comparable day in regard to MLB teams adding this much talent to their farm system at once is the MLB Draft, which now takes place in early July. Think of today as the international counterpart for the draft, though no formal draft takes place. Rather, teams are free to agree to deals with whomever they wish, but they are limited by a budget, known as "international bonus pool money," similar to how teams are financially restricted in the MLB Draft.

Given the nature of the system, where players agree to handshake deals prior to formally signing their contracts, the Milwaukee Brewers already had a good idea of which players would be agreeing to deals before the official signing process took place. Yesterday, I highlighted the three highest-ranked prospects in the Brewers' 2026 international free agent class -- Diego Frontado, Ricki Moneys, and Jose Rodriguez -- but there are several other intriguing prospects in the class as well. One such prospect holds a very similar profile to a highly-ranked Brewers prospect who was in the same spot, as a recently signed international free agent, back in 2019 and is now knocking on the door of the big leagues.

Brewers officially sign international free agent catcher Moises Salazar who has shades of former top prospect Jeferson Quero

Among the exciting talent that the Brewers added to their farm system today is Venezuelan catcher Moises Salazar. As first reported by Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com, the switch-hitting catching prospect formally agreed to a contract with the Brewers today worth $700,000.

As Romero, who is one of the leading experts on all things international free agents, notes in his X post above, Salazar is thought to already have a 60-grade arm (on the 20-80 scouting scale), but evaluators believe it can get even better as he develops.

The popular prospect evaluation publication Baseball America included Salazar on their list of the Top 100 2026 international free agents, with the young catcher earning the 67th spot on their rankings. Like Romero, BA noted that Salazar's pop times behind the dish have been as quick as 1.9 seconds and his arm strength has plus-plus potential. In addition, BA noted that Salazar's quick hands could lead to a great deal of power at the plate as he continues to progress and even included him on their list of the Top 12 breakout candidates in the 2026 class.

The defensive acumen and power potential should remind Brewers fans of another Venezuelan catcher: former top-ranked prospect Jeferson Quero, who has slipped in the Brewers' prospect rankings simply due to a shoulder injury that he sustained in the first game of the 2024 season. Prior to said injury, Quero too had a plus-plus arm and received high marks from prospect evaluators for his defensive abilities.

Leading Brewers prospect evaluator Spencer Michaelis of Brewer Fanatic recently noted on his podcast with Brewers' insider Jack Stern that Quero's shoulder injury has brought his arm strength down closer to league average, but hope remains that it could return to the 55-60-grade range as he continues to build up strength following his 2024 surgery. At the current moment, Quero is slated to be William Contreras' back-up during the 2026 campaign.

Though Quero's arm strength is currently more of a question mark, it's not difficult to see the comparisons between his pre-injury self and Salazar. As previously mentioned, Quero ascended to the top spot on the Brewers' prospect rankings; the team can only hope that Salazar finds similar success as he progresses through their minor league system.