Dodgers agree to deal with Dominican teen

The Dodgers, missing in action on the international bonus scene in recent years, have agreed to sign 16-year-old right-handed pitcher Bryan Munoz from the Dominican Republic for a reported $300,000 bonus, pending a physical exam.

The signing will mark a re-entry by the Dodgers into a Dominican market they once owned. They ranked last in Major League Baseball last year in money spent on international signings. The Dodgers outbid the Rangers, Twins, Tigers and D-backs for Munoz.

The agreement was reached last week, while Munoz was in Arizona with the Dominican Elite Travel Team. The signing bonus is believed to be the largest the Dodgers have given a Dominican player since signing Joel Guzman for $2.25 million in 2001. Guzman played eight games for the Dodgers and was traded to Tampa Bay.

With a fastball reportedly already touching 90 mph, Munoz is expected to start his Minor League career in the United States and not at the Dodgers' Dominican academy at Campo Las Palmas, according to Kevin Bandel, Munoz's agent.

Source: LA Dodgers