Underage Players, Predatory Moneylenders: 7 Findings From Our Dominican Baseball Investigation

The Dominican Republic stands as a powerhouse in baseball talent production, contributing a significant portion of players to Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. Despite its relatively small population, the nation consistently supplies a remarkable 10% of MLB players annually, cementing its reputation as a critical pipeline for professional baseball.

However, beneath this success lies a troubling and largely unregulated infrastructure that exploits young athletes, some as young as 11 years old. Unlike prospects in the U.S. and Canada, who enter the major league system through a regulated draft, Dominican players navigate a competitive marketplace where the highest bidder secures signing rights. This environment has fostered a complex system involving trainers known as buscones, who identify and develop talent through numerous academies scattered across the country.

These trainers operate beyond mere coaching roles, often providing housing, equipment, and minimal education to their athletes. In exchange, they claim a significant portion of the players’ signing bonuses—sometimes as much as half—amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. ProPublica’s analysis reveals that MLB teams paid over $1 billion in bonuses to Dominican prospects from 2012 to early 2026, yet a substantial share is diverted to intermediaries rather than the players themselves.

A central feature of this system is the use of informal preacuerdos, or handshake agreements, which circumvent MLB’s official rules prohibiting contracts with players under 16. These unofficial deals bind young prospects to future contracts, often negotiated through their trainers, with promised bonuses payable upon reaching eligibility age. This practice exposes young athletes and their families to predatory lending schemes, as moneylenders—known locally as prestamistas—offer loans against these future earnings, frequently charging exorbitant interest rates.

The Dominican Republic’s repeal of usury laws over two decades ago has created a permissive lending environment, facilitating aggressive marketing of loans to families of young players. Prestamistas operate openly, leveraging social media and messaging platforms to target those reliant on these precarious financial arrangements.

One illustrative case involves Belfi Rivera, who at 14 entered a preacuerdo promising a $1.8 million bonus from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Despite the sizeable agreement, Rivera received only a fraction of this amount after payments to his trainer and a lender named Santo Caraballo, who maintained significant influence in the Dominican baseball lending market. Caraballo’s activities have attracted attention due to his business partnership with David Ortiz, a celebrated former MLB player and Hall of Famer.

Ortiz’s involvement with Caraballo, including their co-ownership of a Florida-based company dissolved in 2022, raises questions about the intertwining of baseball legends with the financial networks profiting from young players. While Ortiz has publicly distanced himself from Caraballo, footage and documented interactions suggest ongoing associations well beyond their official business dissolution. Ortiz has denied that his stance against reforms, such as an international draft proposed by MLB, was influenced by personal financial interests.

The international draft, championed by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, aims to eliminate the preacuerdo system by standardizing the recruitment of international prospects. However, the players’ union, backed by influential voices like Ortiz, opposes this change, citing concerns over reduced player agency and the loss of competitive bidding that inflates signing bonuses.

This opposition is significant, as the draft could disrupt entrenched financial arrangements benefiting trainers and lenders at the expense of young players’ futures. Ortiz’s efforts to mobilize opposition within the Dominican baseball community underscore the complex dynamics at play, where cultural pride and economic realities intersect.

The case of Oneil Cruz, a Pittsburgh Pirates prospect who was involved in a fatal car accident in 2020, further illustrates the opaque influence of these financial figures. Caraballo reportedly negotiated settlements with victims’ families that led to the dismissal of legal claims, allowing Cruz to continue his professional career. This incident exemplifies the broader power wielded by lenders beyond mere financial transactions.

Despite the scale of these concerns, MLB has been criticized for its limited intervention. The league has neither enforced penalties against teams engaging in early agreements nor implemented effective educational programs to protect players and families from predatory lending. Critics argue that MLB’s reluctance to address these systemic issues perpetuates the exploitation endemic to the Dominican baseball network.

The Dominican baseball ecosystem, while a source of immense national pride and global sporting talent, remains shadowed by economic exploitation and ethical challenges. Without substantive reforms, young prospects will continue to face a perilous path where dreams of professional success are often overshadowed by financial manipulation and broken promises. ProPublica’s investigation sheds light on these hidden struggles, calling for increased transparency and accountability within one of baseball’s most vital international markets.