St. Joseph PostThe 2021 international signing period for the MLB began Friday, and according to MLB.com, the Kansas City Royals have signed one of the top shortstops available in Daniel Vazquez.He’s been signed to a $1.5 million bonus out of the $5.9 million the Royals can spend on international signings this period.There’s also reports that the Royals are likely to sign Dominican shortstop Yosmi Fernandez for $800,000, calling him a “switch-hitter with a swing geared for line drives...thatwill need to get stronger to be able to do more damage.”The Royals will also reportedly sign catcher Osman Bravo, shortstop Diego Guzman, outfielders Sebastian Ramirez and Junior Marin from Venezuela, catcher Steven Cespedes, shortstop Yeison Vargas and outfielder Angel Parra from the Dominican Republic. None of these signings have yet been confirmed by the Royals organization.The Royals have confirmed, however, that they’ve come to terms with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and pitcher Brad Keller - their last remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players.Friday was the deadline to agree on terms with arbitration-eligible players before exchanging figures.According to Alec Lewis, the Royals signed Mondesi to a one-year, $2.53 million contract, and Keller to a one-year, $3.35 million contract.MLB Trade Rumors estimate Mondesi would get either a $2.1 million or $3.8 million deal through arbitration, depending on how the shortened season was weighed. They also estimated Keller would get $2.4 million or $4.3 million.Mondesi had an up-and-down season in 2020, hitting .256 (batting average)/.294 (OBP)/.416 (slug), leading the league with 24 steals in 59 games. In parts of five seasons, Mondesi has hit .251/.284/.415, and has yet to play more than 102 games in a year.The 25-year old Keller is coming off a career-best ERA of 2.47 in 2020, but he only threw 54 2⁄3 innings. He made just nine starts after missing the beginning of the season due to a positive COVID-19 test.Keller has a 3.50 ERA in 360 1⁄3 innings over three seasons with the Royals. Despite coming to terms, Keller and the Royals could still work out a contract extension which could run around $70 million, per reports.Royals Review contributed to this report.

Royals sign Daniel Vazquez, come to terms with Brad Keller, Adalberto Mondessi