Last July, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed two players out of the Bahamas. They signed 18-year-old infielder Kyle Simmons and 16-year-old outfielder Larry Alcime. While they were signed at the same time, the Simmons signing flew under the radar (we announced it a couple hours later). Alcime received a $350,000 bonus, which was the second highest bonus handed out by the Pirates last year. Simmons was one of those rare July signings, who actually got into games during the same year they signed. As a 16-year-old, Alcime signed a contract for the following season.
I talked to Simmons right after he signed and he had a typical story for players signed by the Pirates.