LOS ANGELES, CA—During the 2025 offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off winning the 2024 World Series, were aggressive in the free agent market, bringing in multiple impact players.
However, the downside of those signings and trades was the resulting roster crunch.
After the Dodgers signed South Korean utilityman Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers made the bold choice to move on from former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya.
The Dodgers would DFA Cartaya before trading him to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for 20-year-old right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez.
Cartaya, 23, was once the Dodgers’ number one overall-ranked prospect as recently as last season, but after back-to-back underwhelming minor league seasons, including a lackluster season in Triple-A OKC (.208/.293/.350, .643 OPS), his stock tanked.
The Dodgers cut bait with Cartaya primarily due to the Dodgers having a strong catching foundation with Will Smith, who inked a 10-year contract extension during the 2024 season, and new top catching prospect Dalton Rushing, who made his MLB debut earlier this summer.
In what was a fresh start for Cartaya, it turned into a disaster with the catcher hitting just .085 with a .353 OPS, striking out in 40 of his 59 at-bats with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate.
The former Dodgers backstop was the corresponding move for the Twins to make after they recently claimed catcher Jhonny Pereda off waivers from the Athletics on Tuesday.
Cartaya’s release signaled the conclusion of a risky gamble by the Twins, who traded for the Venezuelan catcher after the Dodgers chose to move on this past offseason. As of 2023, Cartaya was recognized as the top prospect in Los Angeles’ farm system and the 14th overall prospect in baseball.
Now, he’s just another example of a former top prospect who never lived up to the high expectations set on him.
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