Two weeks after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round of the 2023 amateur draft, French hurler Mathias Lacombe has signed a contract with the American League team, with Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reporting that LaCombe will receive a $450,000 bonus.
LaCombe caught the eye of scouts after an impressive junior-college season in which he struck out 97 batters in just 67.1 innings.
He had committed to play at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2023-24 season, and in so doing would have become the second French baseball player to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level, but he will now head to Arizona, where the White Sox have their Spring Training and rookie-league complex.
As mister-baseball.com has previously reported, LaCombe is the highest profile example of a burgeoning pipeline of French talent that bodes well for the country’s long-term goal of qualifying for the World Baseball Classic.