MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Yankees have signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher
Rainiero Coa. The original report comes from Annelida Yoris Rivas at the Venezuelan paper
Nueva Prensa. Here's a little more from MLBTR:
A lengthy bio in the decidedly lo-fi Diario el Progreso gives more details: Coa is a recently converted third baseman/shortstop whose hitting in international junior tournaments drew interest from a number of clubs. However, his defense and arm behind the plate were what sealed the deal at a recent Yankees tryout in Venezuela.
Here's some more info from Domenic:
In the 2009 IMAF World Youth Baseball Championship, Coa batted .367 with a double and three walks in eight games. He didn't lead in any single category, and I cannot find a leaderboard otherwise - in terms of the boxscores I went through, though, he appeared to be among the better players in the tournament.
For what it's worth, he appeared at C, 1B, 3B, LF, and RF.
If I can find any more info on the kid I'll pass it along.
