The top international prospect has walked away from his deal with the New York Yankees to sign with the New York Mets.

MLB insider Will Sammon of The Athletic reported on late Thursday night that Wandy Asigen, a 16-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, backed out of his agreement with the Yankees and will sign with the Mets.

The Yankees are having a turnover in their international scouting department, which led to him backing out of the deal. MLB insider Francys Romero reported that Asigen’s agreement with the Mets is expected to be worth $3.8 million.

The Mets were able to swoop in and steal Asigen from the Yankees after another deal with a teenager from Venezuela worth $2.7 million that fell through. That gave them the funds to go after Asigen and sign him away from his Yankees deal.

MLB Pipeline ranks Asigen as the second-best international free agent prospect. Sammon said multiple evaluators told him he’s the best.

Asigen is known for his bat, as the left-handed hitter already has great bat speed, and many view him as a future MLB star.

“Asigen has been heralded as having arguably the most advanced offensive profile among his class. … The excitement around Asigen’s prospect profile stems primarily from his special left-handed swing. He has ripped off 110+ mph exit velocities and is repeatedly able to find the barrel during in-game action,” MLB Pipeline’s article read.

“Asigen has a knack for creating loft from his frame. Something that should allow him to continue to tap into his above-average power as he continues to fill out. The quickness of his hands has evaluators excited about the future potential impact he can have with the bat.”

The deal will become official on Jan. 15.

Asigen is a Solid Defender

Although Asigen is known for his bat, his defense is also solid.

Asigen is a shortstop right now, but could move off that position later on in his career. But MLB Pipeline is impressed with his defense and his speed, which helps him get to balls deep in the hole.

“Defensively, many of those same actions work in his favor,” MLB Pipeline added. “While his arm is merely average at this stage, he performs many of the quick-twitch movements that evaluators look for when projecting a young player’s ability to stick at shortstop.

“Asigen has a nose for the ball and his wheels – which have been clocked at 6.5 seconds on 60-yard dash times – allow him to cover tons of ground laterally.”

Asigen is listed at 6-foot, 175lbs shortstop.

Yankees Let International Free Agent Scouting Director Go

Asigen’s move comes after New York made a major move to the front office.

The Yankees decided to let Danny Rowland go at the end of the season. Rowland served as New York’s director of international scouting for the past 15 years. He’d been with the Yankees for 23 years in total.

“His contract had expired,” general manager Brian Cashman said during a Zoom news conference. “I made the difficult decision to look for a different lead voice in that chair.”

Despite several impact International Free Agents having key roles with the Yankees, New York decided to move on from Rowland.