MLB Trade Rumors By | April 25 The Twins have sent catcher Diego Cartaya outright to Triple-A Saint Paul, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic There was no previous indication that he had been removed from the roster but it appears the club quietly put him on waivers recently The Twins may have some specific plan for the roster spot they just opened but it’s also possible they just figured now was a good time to get Cartaya through waivers unclaimed his stock was already at a low point to start this year thanks to some subpar numbers at the plate in 2023 and 2024 He’s out to a horrendous start here in 2025 with a .080/.207/.200 line through seven Triple-A contests He has struck out in 18 of his 29 plate appearances As of a few years ago, Cartaya was in the Dodgers’ system and one of the top prospects in the league. Baseball America had him as high as #18 overall going into the 2023 season he had a combined .269/.380/.502 batting line and 136 wRC+ in his minor league career He battled a number of injuries in that time but the results were clearly there when he was on the field his stock was down enough that he lost his roster spot with the Dodgers but there was evidently still enough league-wide interest that the Twins gave up a minor leaguer to skip the waiver queue it appears the league’s view of him has dropped even further 29 teams passed on the chance to grab him off waivers and stash him in Triple-A Cartaya will give them some non-roster depth and try to play his way back into a spot Players need a previous career outright or three years of service time to have the right to reject an outright assignment Cartaya has no major league service yet and this is his first career outright so he’ll have to stick with the Saints Minnesota Twins Transactions Just because lopez is back doesn’t mean he needs to be off the roster So you’re saying that you’re Cartaya’s Dad then “I’m a guy”…Of course you are Roob has always been a little gruff and overly blunt so why don’t we step into my office and talk this out Paul is very beautiful this time of year and we just upgraded our AAA facilities The twins are actually out of position players both in the infield and the outfield if somebody else goes down There are no other healthy (non catchers) on the 40 man A-ball ability doesn’t always translate to the bigs because he was getting Sal Perez comps thrown at him Yes…by overly eager scribes who don’t know their @$$ from their elbow He hasn’t logged any playing time in the minors this year for some reason I couldn’t get him out That Rays story about the bodies under the Trop is nuts He’s neither an offensive nor defensive catcher Catching runners at a 19% clip is less than pedestrian The tools never developed with his age & experience This is a classic case of a team seeing a pedigree guy come available for nearly free and deciding to see if they can work anything out His 2025 struggles are likely a result of instruction—one step back for two steps forward is a common view of mechanical/approach/process change AAA AA Which one is battery for flashlight and which one for Godzilla toy Log in Register MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball Register Pablo Cartaya is an internationally acclaimed author His work has been featured in the New York Times and Sesame Street on projects adapted from television series and movies His novels have been published by Penguin Random House Pablo served as a judge for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and winner for the nation’s most prestigious literary award Pablo has facilitated approximately over one hundred and fifty writing workshops and lectures and in countries across the globe including Sweden Pablo served as director of literary arts programming and community engagement at the prestigious four-star During his tenure he led the first literary festival celebrating and highlighting Latinx authors and creators; created the first hybrid literary and visual arts program for Art Basel Miami at The Betsy; helped secure seed funding and performance spaces for the first TransArt Festival in Miami FL; created the first Writers for Young Readers authors program in Miami FL; and received a grant for The Betsy Writer’s Room a dedicated space in the luxury hotel to host writers and creators gratis for up to four days of residency he oversaw the development of over twenty creative arts initiatives and over four hundred residencies for writers and creatives Novels include: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, Each Tiny Spark, and the upcoming climate dystopia The Last Beekeeper He also contributed to the collection of essays Hope Wins published in 2022 Notable Awards and Honors include: 2020 Schneider Family Book Award Honor 2018 American Library Association’s Pura Belpré Honor a hard-throwing prospect who has spent the last two seasons in the DSL Cartaya was a big bonus amateur player ($2.5 million) whose career had a very promising first four seasons He was striking out at an elevated rate (26.7%) at the time but he was also getting to impressive power and playing a premium position His big frame and plus raw arm strength were the foundation of a likely defensive fit at catcher and at the time it felt fine that Cartaya (who had missed all of 2020 because of the COVID shutdown and most of 2021 due to injury) was a little behind as a receiver and ball-blocker Cartaya has either plateaued or regressed in basically every facet of the game and this shows in the way he tries to frame borderline pitches and in how he tries to pick balls in the dirt Cartaya is capable of hurling darts right to second base with plus pop times but he often either takes too long to get rid of the baseball yet he’s allowed stolen bases at an 80% success rate in his minor league career and 84% in 2024 Cartaya hit .189/.278/.379 in 2023 — his first year on the Dodgers 40-man roster — and .221/.323/.363 in 2024 with his hard hit rate dropping from 41% in 2022 to 33% last year It’s prudent to give young catchers a long runway to develop as hitters because their bodies take a beating playing defense and they might be physically compromised for large chunks of a season such that it impacts their overall offensive output But Cartaya has now had two years with the look of a fringe prospect and so at this point it’s fair to consider him exactly that He’s still a big-framed young guy with that big arm and the Twins have had success at developing catchers who were once considered long shots to remain behind the plate so Cartaya still carries some prospect value as a potential late-bloomer while Rushing further develops in the minors There was probably still time for the Dodgers to attempt to develop Cartaya if they really wanted to but as a contending team they’ll likely have other more pressing needs for that 40-man roster spot Industry inventory at catcher is always low and depth at that position is coveted on the margins of every roster If the Twins develop Cartaya enough that he can be their backup next year when Vázquez’s contract ends then they can feel okay about having given up an actual prospect for him who signed with Minnesota at the tail end of the 2022 signing period (December 13) for $120,000 and he spent both 2023 and 2024 in the DSL After walking more than a batter per inning in his debut season Vasquez is still most likely going to be a reliever 220ish-pound 20-year-old who has had trouble harnessing his 94-97 mph fastball His 84-88 mph slider is curt and cuttery at times but it flashes bat-missing two-plane shape and above-average length Vasquez’s realistic ceiling is better than a generic middle reliever but he’s maybe a half decade away from the bigs He’ll probably begin his Dodgers career in Extended Spring Training Impressive work again by the dodgers in getting assets back rather than just losing a player who failed to meet expectations They didn’t get anything for Florial Morris is no longer in their system and wasn’t a good get even at the time The former top prospect gets a change of scenery in Minnesota The Twins have acquired two players this offseason, both catchers, though this one is a touch more notable than the last. The Twins acquired catcher and former top prospect Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose Vazquez Acquiring Cartaya for a wild card pitcher would have been unthinkable just two seasons ago he ranked 19th on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 100 struggling mightily since reaching Double-A in 2023 Cartaya hit .204/.303/.379 with a 29.1% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate The Dodgers pushed him to AAA for the second half of 2024 where he hit a nearly identical .208/.293/.350 striking out at a 27.4% clip while walking at a 9.6% rate His work behind the plate has received mixed reviews earning credit for his arm while needing to improve pitch framing While he likely won’t become the mid-order bat scouts thought The Twins are hoping that a change of scenery can help his bat while they coach up the glove like they did with Mitch Garver and Ryan Jeffers they took a worthwhile flyer on a former top prospect at a position of need The offseason has been underwhelming and this acquisition doesn’t help that perception Cartaya joins Mickey Gasper as the Twins’ only other 40-man roster addition thus far in the offseason While either player would be a downgrade from Christian Vazquez their presence along with holdover Jair Camargo could spell the end of Vazquez’s time in Minnesota The Twins have been arguably the most dormant teams in an active offseason due to the Pohlads’ unwillingness to spend more on the roster so if any of the three catchers behind Jeffers can provide a solid glove Jose Vazquez has spent the last two years on the Twins’ DSL squad The 19-year-old had a 4.99 ERA/3.75 FIP and 45 strikeouts in 30.1 innings last season We recently switched our login system from requiring display names to email addresses in order to log in You must use your email address instead of your display name in order to log in Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats You need to be a member in order to leave a comment Sign up for a new account in our community A history of back injuries have kept him off the field for spurts, and when healthy he’s struggled to produce with the bat like he had through the lower levels of the minor leagues. He was still on Law’s list of prospects who “just missed” the Top 100 a year ago but then produced a .686 OPS in 400 plate appearances between Double A and Triple A in 2024 The problems matched the critical parts of his initial scouting report with Cartaya striking out nearly 30 percent of the time while not providing enough consistent power to make up for it but there wasn’t a path for him anymore in Los Angeles Vasquez is a rookie-ball right-hander who spent the past two years in the Dominican Summer League posting a 4.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts against 15 walks in 30 2/3 innings there last season He wasn’t in consideration for The Athletic’s recent Twins top 40 prospects list but did improve his fastball velocity to the mid-90s and the 20-year-old has some upside as a low-minors flier for the Dodgers’ player development group Gasper’s defensive reputation behind the plate is shaky enough that it might be a stretch to consider him a catcher rather than a first baseman who also catches but either way it’s noteworthy that the Twins are stockpiling depth at the position while trade rumors continue to swirl around Vázquez Camargo has been stuck at Triple A the past two seasons and Cartaya is something of a lottery ticket at this point but the odds of the Twins carrying five — or even 4 1/2 — catchers on the 40-man roster when spring training begins are low Vázquez is owed $10 million in the final season of a three-year deal and the Twins’ current $142 million payroll is roughly $10 million higher than the expected budget handed down from ownership It’s getting harder not to connect some dots (Photo of Diego Cartaya in 2022: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images) The Twins are sending minor league RHP Jose Vasquez back to Los Angeles The 20-year-old has spend the last two summers in the DSL Cartaya, 23, was jettisoned off the 40-man roster to make room for Hyesong Kim ending his up-and-down prospect career as a Dodger The return for the Dodgers is a 20-year-old Vasquez José Vásquez, a 19-year-old from the DR, struck out 6 of the first 7 batters he faced in the DSL Twins win yesterday💥3 IP / 1 H / 3 R / 1 BB / 6 K He is averaging 95 MPH this season after averaging 91 MPH last season ⛽️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/BHfGy28fNK it looks like he has a 2-seam fastball (or a 4-seamer w/ some natural arm-side run) but the offspeed offerings there definitely won’t get advanced minor-leaguers out at present He’s the definition of a lottery ticket for the Dodgers’ player developmental staff which is about all you can usually ask for when it comes to trading players who get designated for assignment The lesson here is: Prospects are volatile regarded or how glowing the scouting report is The bust potential for all prospects is far more likely than the boom and the Dodgers have done a relatively good job of developing such prospects — as well as finding some hidden gems Tags This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Cartaya was designated for assignment on January 3 pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 The Dodgers on Thursday traded catcher Diego Cartaya to the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez Cartaya, a two-time consensus top-100 prospect in baseball, was designated for assignment on Friday to make 40-man-roster room for newly-signed infielder Hyeseong Kim The Dodgers were carrying four catchers on the roster who used option years in each of 2023 and 2024 He was the low-man on the depth chart with Will Smith and Austin Barnes in the majors and Hunter Feduccia at the ready in Triple-A should a backup-catching need arise who could hit his way to the majors this season and Cartaya’s chances of playing time in Los Angeles were highly unlikely Given that Cartaya will be out of options after 2025 and with a limited path to the majors this year he’ll have a chance to turn things around after struggling to hit in the upper levels of the minor leagues the last two seasons Cartaya hit .189/.278/.379 with a 71 wRC+ and 19 home runs in 93 games in Double-A in 2023 then hit .221/.323/.363 with a 85 wRC+ and 11 home runs in 95 games between Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024 including just .208/.293/.350 with a 60 wRC+ in Triple-A Vasquez turned 20 in December and has yet to pitch stateside The 6’4 right-hander had a 4.99 ERA in 30⅔ innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 Minnesota signed Vasquez as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in December 2022 Dan Hayes of The Athletic had the information Diego Cartaya has cleared outright waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A St. Paul. #MNTwins 40-man is at 39 so the outrighting just means he's been removed from the 40-man roster and was put on waivers Paul but will have a tougher time making it back to the 40-man A former top prospect with the Los Angeles Dodgers Cartaya has seen his star plummet over the last few years 16 prospect in the Dodgers organization in 2024 but he was No He was designated for assignment this past January to make room for Korean infielder Hye-seong Kim He's hitting just .080 this season with one homer Cartaya hit just .221 last season in 95 games but he did connect on 11 homers and brought home 52 runs He hit a career-high 22 homers back in the 2022 season He's never played more than 95 games in a season there is still time for Cartaya to figure it out but time would seem to be dwindling on him The Twins will be back in action on Friday night at the major league level They'll play at home against the Los Angeles Angels HIGH PRAISE: Caleb Durbin, acquired from the Yankees this offseason, is drawing rave reviews in the Brewers organization since being called up. CLICK HERE: REHABBING HOMER: DJ LeMahieu, the former batting champion, hit a home run in his first rehab game with the Double-A Somerset Patriots. CLICK HERE: NO POSITIONAL CHANGE: The Red Sox are certainly eager to get top prospect Roman Anthony to the big leaues, but they won't move him to first base to make it happen sooner. CLICK HERE: The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER The Minnesota Twins welcome the Los Angeles Angels to Target Field this weekend. The good news is that they aren’t the juggernauts that the other LA baseball team is The bad news is they are better than the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota has struggled to beat any team not named the White Sox or Braves this season Entering the weekend home series, nothing has come easy for the 9-16 Twins Royce Lewis starts a rehab assignment in St he’s expected back in the big league lineup in short order On Thursday they played with just 25 players on the 26-man roster who officially returned to the starting rotation on Friday But after yet another fringe roster move this afternoon they’re now down a spot (39) on the 40-man This offseason, the Minnesota Twins swung a trade for Diego Cartaya The former top 100 prospect had fallen out of favor with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he seemed like a potential reclamation project the Twins saw an opportunity to slip him through waivers The 23-year-old Cartaya has played in seven games for the Saints this season, where he’s batting just .080/.207/.200 His lone extra-base hit was a home run… for whatever that’s worth On Tuesday, against the Indianapolis Indians, Cartaya went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts he did recorded a hit in his fifth at-bat… against one of the Indians position players who were on the mound having fun at the expense of the Saints It’s possible that Cartaya plays himself back into the Twins plans but right now he’s just worried about getting right The .892 OPS he owned as a 20-year-old in High-A looks like a mirage Diego Cartay posted a .643 OPS at Triple-A Although the Minnesota Twins have not yet announce a corresponding move, to bring the 40-man roster back to full-staff. The best candidate seems to be OF Carson McCusker. The former independent ball product was at Target Field on Thursday and even made an appeared on the Twins.TV pre-game show This is now a @carson_mccusker stan page. He hits his first ever grand slam. It's his 6th home run of the season for the man that came in 2nd in Triple-A in exit velo at 95.9. (home run was 102.6). He came in 2nd in the IL in slugging (.673) & OPS (1.073) & T3rd in HR. Lead 5-1. pic.twitter.com/ROH2vvx6Zd McCusker is an undrafted 26-year-old outfielder who’s hard to miss they compared his physical stature to that of Aaron Judge Since joining the Twins organization in 2023 all this kid has done is hit the baseball really hard Last year, between Double and Triple-A, the former 26th round pick posted a .282/.353/.488 slash line He’ll drive some fans crazy with how often he strikes out he owns a .302/.380/.667 line and already has six homers Tuesday he launched his first career grand slam McCusker likely won’t hit for the same average at the big league level He would be another developmental success story for the Twins and can play both corner outfield spots As a right-handed hitter he provides some platoon flexibility with Trevor Larnach and he should bring more offense than what DaShawn Keirsey Jr It remains to be seen how Minnesota will use the open 40-man spot Maybe they have something cooking on the trade front he’s a guy that could help to spark what has been a dismal offense More About: Dodgers trade Cartaya to Twins for RHP Jose VasquezJanuary 9th LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers traded catcher to the Twins in exchange for Minor League right-hander Jose Vasquez Cartaya, who was MLB Pipeline's No. 1 Dodgers prospect as recently as 2023, was designated for assignment on Jan. 3 in order to clear room for Hyeseong Kim on Los Angeles' 40-man roster Dodgers receive: RHP Jose VasquezTwins receive: C Diego Cartaya Originally signed as an intentional free agent in 2018 out of Maracay Cartaya once ranked among the most highly regarded prospects in baseball But after being named the Dodgers' Minor League Player of the Year in 2022 Between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City he hit .221 with a .686 OPS and 11 homers across 95 games last season In 363 Minor League games with the Dodgers' organization from 2019-24 Cartaya did not have a clear path forward with the Dodgers, with starting backstop Will Smith under contract through 2033. Austin Barnes and Hunter Feduccia are also on the 40-man roster, and current top prospect Dalton Rushing is knocking on the door of the big leagues signed with the Twins as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo He spent the last two seasons pitching in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League going 5-2 with an 8.05 ERA across 22 outings (nine starts) By | January 3 Cartaya has yet to play in the major leagues but he’s a bigger name than most players who find themselves in DFA limbo The Venezuela native was one of the best talents in his amateur signing class and inked a $2.5MM bonus in 2018 He performed well in the low minors and shot to the top of the Dodger system Baseball America ranked him as L.A.’s #1 prospect entering both the 2022 and ’23 campaigns He was among BA’s 25 best minor league talents in both years but he at least seemed like a potential key trade chip That he has been DFA just over two years later demonstrates how far his stock has fallen Cartaya’s bat has stalled in the upper minors He hit .189 with a 29% strikeout rate over 93 Double-A games in 2023 he still ranked eighth among Dodger prospects at Baseball America going into last season Cartaya improved offensively in his second shot at Double-A where he hit .236/.354/.379 over 45 contests He couldn’t maintain that after being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City in the middle of June while Smith signed a contract extension that’ll keep him in Los Angeles through 2033 After Cartaya struggled through consecutive down seasons They’ll have five days to trade him or place him on waivers Another team will almost certainly roll the dice likely via trade that’d allow them to jump the waiver order Cartaya draws praise for his defensive acumen and has drawn plenty of walks even as his numbers have fallen in the high minors While the swing-and-miss means he’s unlikely to become a franchise catcher there are probably teams that feel he’ll be a capable backup or a potential low-end regular Cartaya still has a minor league option remaining An acquiring team would be able to send him to Triple-A for another season Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions A cursory glance at his Baseball Reference seems to indicate hia bat fell off a cliff once he started the climb to AA/AAA might as well kick the tires if he makes it down the waiver wire to AJ Just the next super overhyped prospect who gets mad love bc he is the dodgers organization Since dodgers and Yankees have the most fans – there prospects get extra love by these ranking associations in attempt to draw more readers to their site do you think De Vries and Salas are overhyped too Joey Bart was overhyped and overmatched until he wasn’t Bart didn’t break out until he was 27 As much as I’d like to see SD pick him up off waivers I’m guessing some team will trade for him. There should be interest from multiple teams he went from top 10 to 19 and may completely drop out of top 100 when new rankings come out their fail rate as elite prospects is greater than 90% Only two that lived up to hype is posey and rutschman He may sneak into top 100 when new rankings come out and he hit well enough to deserve that Forgot more about prospects then you’ll ever know friend <3 The padres are the ones who forced the international signing cap The year they spent like 70-80 mil and that changed the landscape of minor league baseball forbever Also know that SD scouting department is best in baseball They are the only team in the sport that can rationalize trading away future stars on a regular basis bc of how excellent they are at scouting and drafting And Diego was an absolute overhyped bust who had no chance living up to the hype of a top 10 prospect you’ve always known your stuff whiffa although “not much” came out of it but 9th overall among catchers in OPS last season (higher than Will Smith Not what a player accomplishes in the prime of their career after they hit waivers He was an overhyped prospect not worthy of a second pick and his inability to make it at the next level proved that I thought pitino was gonna be the man once the rays got a hold of him and then through Morjone was a late bloomer International prospects are sooo hit or miss Rarely do the top guys ever pan out unless they are already mlb ready like Vlad or Ohtani It’ll be terrible for baseball if he ends up a dodger How can you call a guy overrated who eventually becomes a solid MLB player The rank of overall picks aren’t absolutes They are relative to the talent depth of any particular draft Bart would not have been a 14th overall ranked prospect in 2020 They scout other teams prospects better than the team they are currently with Bc it’s an asset and a commodity to your company that you acquired with the hopes it performs Barts price to acquire was close to 10 million Then his value to the organization while he was a top 25 prospect was greater than what they paid in a signing bonus – meaning the giants could have traded him as a headliner in a trade package like the Red Sox wisely did with the white sox this offseason Instead they held onto until his value deminished and disappeared to the point where he wasn’t even with a roster spot That’s what makes him an absolute complete over hyped bust He can still go onto have a productive mlb career but that’ll never change is draft or prospect status I’ve been known to throw a stone around the California League and stuff… I surely have seen him play Doral Hershiser I’ll just remind you that this is a League of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”- especially when it’s a rich man’s trash That doesn’t mean he’s actually any good in relation to other prospects name one prospect the Dodgers have screwed the pooch on this last decade by trading them and now “really could use them” Don’t get me started on once a week I’m a superstar O’neil Cruz either Not hating a minor league deal with invite He would have to be claimed so he will be on the 40 man when ya put it that way… I wish you weren’t correct they have an empty 40 man spot (so they don’t need to get rid of anyone – plus 2 more slated for the 60-day DL in about a month) There current backup catcher is a free agent come November Cartaya has one final option year to prove he can hit minor league pitching…if not then DFA him again next winter They have no real catching prospects on the system above A ball so worth a chance He’s probably not passing through waivers which means he’s taking someone’s 40 man spot somewhere And even if he passes through waivers the Dodgers could then outright him off the 40 man and keep him for nothing It’s almost impossible for him to become a free agent How they gonna DFA Manny Machado lil brother He’s been a prospect that everyone thought would make a difference they’ll trade Cartaya before week’s end 3 years ago he was expected to be an impact bat Someone will claim him if he isn’t traded There’s the Cardinals,Reds,Marlins future Catcher After Tyler thought they have nothing that is remotely ready….Duno is years away Would make sense for the Reds to make a deal for him I would give them one of their Callahan’s for him And Reds acquired Jose Trevino from Yankees as the backup to Stephenson Why would Cartaya platoon with anyone above Double A Cardinals have Harrera and Pages at MLB level I understand Herrera and the depth being listed as deterrents but idk if I would name Pages–a 26 year old backup with 68 games played and 218 PA at the MLB level not to mention having practically no success in AAA–as a reason to not claim Cartaya Always was solid with the bat in the minors and they love his defense He has sucked the last 2 years with the bat…close to the Mendoza line and well below .700 OPS White Sox are always open to adding another catcher He was for sure getting traded before this move since his path is blocked and doesn’t play another position a la Rushing He was DH’ing almost as much as he caught last year This is a solid take… Braves got D’Arnaud from LAD the same way… Braves fans celebrating their team being waiver wire hunters instead of actual players in FA despite ostensibly being major contenders is so funny You guys know you don’t profit share with ownership Teams should want to be waiver wire hunters in addition to being actual FA players Except the Braves have done nothing this offseason and are shopping at the discount aisle If this was the Mets or the Phillies their fan bases would be all over the FO and ownership Only Braves fans smugly take joy in their team trying to maximize revenue instead of spending big like the other NL contenders The Braves had one period where they spent a bunch on long term extensions for their core and have since done nothing significant to supplement that core They’ve lost a lot of ground on the Mets and the Dodgers and I don’t know why that fanbase isn’t big mad about their offseason In an article about a player being dfa’d what were you expecting the conversation to be about One of many hitting prospects that tears it up in the offense-friendly California League but then their bat disappears in a more normal altitude/humidity… All the best A league pitchers throw in the Florida State League… It wasn’t so much the Cal league as the fact that he had physically matured at an extremely young age and was essentially a man playing against boys His issue is that he has way too many holes in his swing The one thing going for him is that he’s because a solid defensive catcher so catching on as a backup for some team isn’t impossible Should he be traded or picked up on waivers any informed person know whether he must remain on their 40 man roster Don’t think his new team would have that restriction But he can be optioned for one more year as far as I can see An acquiring team can try to find a time to try to pass him through waivers if they want the 40 man spot and think he’ll go unclaimed But as a C with some prospect pedigree and an option remaining but I didn’t put much thought into the corresponding roster moves of the Dodgers I was just answering the question that yes if you pick him up through trade or waivers If they want to remove him from the 40 they DFA him and go through this process all over again Often times an out of options player (usually an interesting reliever) will be claimed and put on waivers several times with teams hoping to be the one to pass them through waivers and outright them as minor league depth I don’t think that’ll be Cartaya’s path because he does have an option so a team interested in working with him as minors depth will probably just acquire him and option him I just gave much the same answer before seeing your new post Just saying if he’s now a DFA’d candidate being outrighted isn’t out of the realm of possibilities He can be optioned to the minors by his new team but would remain on the 40 man This is his last option year though so next year it would be major leagues or DFA Why he might not be as popular a trade target as people think upon Claim or Trade Cartaya must be placed on the new team’s 40 Man and then Cartaya would then be eligible to be removed from the 40 Revocable Waivers don’t exist anymore Don’t know why they held on to him for so long Especially after they drafted Rushing… Rushing isn’t really a good catcher defensively He’s just turned 23 and had a .900 OPS two seasons ago He’ll easily be traded for a non-40 man roster prospect since he’s still a young catcher… The Dodgers should at least be able to get as good of a prospect as the Phillies got for Tyler Gilbert he had a horrible season but was highly thought of before Dodgers always have the top farm system and yet it seems like almost none of these guys pan out those are guys who have graduated in just the past two years not to mention a dozen pitchers currently pitching in MLB I could go on but it’s pretty apparent you’re incorrect in your assessment of their farm system @amazing larry I laughed so hard when I read this Yes I’m sure it’s just a conspiracy to give the Dodgers easier trades because MLB GMs evaluate based on prospect lists No one claimed teams front offices used these lists Teams with larger markets by defn have more fans Most prospects never take the next step beyond being prospects All prospects are suspects until proven at The Bigs Went from putting up all kindsa stats to barely batting .200 Don’t believe his defense matured like they expected either Thing about Friedman is he’ll get some type of value in return even though he really shouldn’t A player a few yrs younger n w/some lottery upside Dodgers FO is best in game @evaluating a players hidden value that team the Dodgers are always poaching front office people from You’re right Rays do incredible job w/their resources And it’s Friedman’s ol stomping ground Not just Dodgers acquiring their FO talent I got released in the 90s hitting only .250 Now they would probably move me up the ladder Could a lux & cartaya package be happening soon Cards don’t need an infielder-especially a ML infielder-or a catching “prospect” Dodgers would need to throw in a pitcher like Wrobleski or Caspurius as well I wouldn’t mind the Guardians giving him a shot They have a serious lack of catching depth in the upper minors and Bo Naylor has yet to put it all together Being a Dodger MiLB player must feel pretty hopeless these days This guy had significant trade value a couple of years ago Lesson for the Orioles should they care to learn it Prospects can supplement a team but they are also capital to acquire proven players More teams should go the route that Preller does Tigers incumbent Jake Rogers being a perfect example Jump the line and bring him on board to pair with Liranzo at AAA The Tigers have had decent luck with LA prospects none of their AAA catchers last year did much of anything Wouldn’t mind seeing the Red Sox take a chance on him considering that in trading Teel they kind of obliterated their future behind the dish but there’s nobody beyond that who inspires much faith Teams like the Red Sox should add them last or at least after they have the pitching and offense part figured out The Red Sox need Teel as a prospect significantly less than most teams The media likes to help the Dodgers pump and dump their prospects in trades In aisle 37 we have a large selection of tin foil hats many emblazoned with “Pump & Dump” and others with “The Media is Not Your Friend” Oh have a group of people pinned the media as “the enemy of the people”… Unless it’s convenient for them or what they want to hear They’re just good little fascist sheep getting in line Whether the earth is round or flat is irrelevant Whether you can logically debate or shout the loudest is what counts Maybe they can get a package deal with Lux I wouldn’t mind seeing the Yankees take a chance on Cartaya They have a couple of Cs with lower ceilings already taking up spots on the 40 man so why not give Cartaya a look they love light hitting players especially those with little to no power His value is in his defensive ability at the position The possibility that he may eventually correct his swing is just an added hope This is the jackpot for a team like the Marlins who have 0 depth and have t had a catcher since JT….Pudge 1 season… don’t claim any reclamation project (but will soon guys like Segura and Tom Anderson Dodgers (knowing their luck he’ll go unclaimed),Yankees who claim in Diego is way too raw to give up on already I hope all catcher prospects entirely ignore media and internet prospect evaluators If any catcher has a good offensive season or even just a good offensive profile then they are immediately held to that standard of offensive production and/or projection despite maybe 4-5 MLB catchers having above average bats in any given year I think his floor is a Jacob Stallings type catcher who can be a reliable if unimpressive starter on bad teams or a solid backup on good teams That’s still a really good baseball player His ceiling is cutting down on the strikeouts and getting on base with decent but not huge power numbers so maybe a Gary Carter or Sandy Alomar profile at his best But because he popped off for a year or two as a 20 year old he’s going to be labeled a bust if he isn’t in the Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina realm This kind of supports my idea that there is no such thing as catching prospects Cartaya will probably cost intl pool money (for Sasaki) rather than prospects The Jays should certainly take a look as catcher is one of their many they’ll likely play him in left field Phillies need to put him in AAA for a year Change of scenery could really make a difference for him Teams can only trade $600k in intl pool money per trade Maybe a 3-way or a second “agreed upon” trade to get 1.2 mil more for Sasaki We recently switched our login system from requiring display names to email addresses in order to log in. You must use your email address instead of your display name in order to log in. Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy! This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Catcher Diego Cartaya was rated as the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect in 2023 but then fell out of favor in the organization. FORT MYERS, FLA. – Diego Cartaya was known for being the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top-ranked prospect for a couple of seasons, and now he’s moved onto creating his next chapter. “I just think ‘prospect’ means that you’re a minor leaguer,” Cartaya said, “and I don’t want to be a minor leaguer for my whole life. I mean, it’s good that I had [recognition], but I don’t think it’s something I ever thought about.” Cartaya, a 23-year-old catcher who was rated as the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect two years ago, was designated for assignment on Jan. 3 when they wanted to use his spot on the 40-man roster elsewhere. It was a roster move that blindsided him. About a week later, Cartaya was traded to the Twins for minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez. He quickly and abruptly fell out of the Dodgers’ long-term plans after he struggled to hit in back-to-back seasons in the upper levels of the minor leagues. In 95 games last year, he batted .221 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI while striking out in nearly a third of his plate appearances. Defensively, he needs to improve at blocking low pitches. The Twins have several front office staffers with ties to the Dodgers, including their director of Latin America scouting Roman Barinas, who was part of the staff that signed Cartaya out of Venezuela in 2018 for $2.5 million. “I’m sure he probably has dealt with a lot of different things being such a high-profile young player,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Sometimes, you need to pause for a second, refocus, and go at it. I think he’s at that point, but he has tremendous ability and a good personality.” Few reclamation projects are as young as Cartaya, another reason the Twins were intrigued when he became available. “He can impact the game on both sides, hitting and defensively,” fellow Twins catcher Jair Camargo said. “He speaks both languages [English and Spanish]. We’re really close because of it, too. Trying to create relationships with the pitcher and feedback and all that. He’s got a really bright future.” It was fitting when Cartaya arrived inside the Twins clubhouse earlier this month and saw his locker was situated next to Camargo. They were teammates in the Dodgers’ farm system for a couple of years and became friends. They were playing video games together in a hotel room when Camargo learned he was traded to the Twins in 2020, a deal that included Kenta Maeda and Brusdar Graterol. “He experienced the same feelings that I had when I got traded,” Camargo said. “He was like, ‘I couldn’t believe it.’ I was like, ‘Bro, it was the same thing I had.’” Before reporting to Twins camp, Cartaya spent a couple of weeks playing in the Venezuelan winter league. He’s young, but he knows he is already at a sink-or-swim point in his career. “I consider us pretty fortunate to be able to work with a guy with that type of ability,” Baldelli said. “He is redefining his career at this moment, too. I think it’s an opportunity for us and our staff — eventually our minor league group — to take this guy, allow him to feel comfortable, be clear with what adjustments we think he’s fully capable of making, and then let him go work.” The Twins started their live batting practice sessions Sunday. Jhoan Duran reached 100 mph with his fastball, according to the stadium’s scoreboard. Pablo López, who hit 96 mph with his fastball, and Zebby Matthews both worked two “innings” and threw around 40 pitches. Joe Ryan, who had a season-ending shoulder injury last year, threw 20 pitches. Ryan “is in an ideal space,” Baldelli said. “After what he dealt with last year and where he is now, I think everyone is very, very happy to see him throwing the ball.” Veteran infielder Paul DeJong signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Washington. The Twins were previously in talks with DeJong about a split contract, which gives players a prorated portion of their salary for time spent in the majors, according to a source. Bobby Nightengale joined the Minnesota Star Tribune in May, 2023, after covering the Reds for the Cincinnati Enquirer for five years. He's a graduate of Bradley University. Twins His idea: "For the amount of money we spend on cookies The Twins made roster moves during Monday's off-day and Lewis will make his season debut on Tuesday The Twins scored two runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth and held on for their second consecutive one-run victory at Boston By | January 9 The Twins have acquired former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league right-hander Jose Vasquez Cartaya was designated for assignment earlier in the week Cartaya was a consensus top-20 prospect in the entire sport but the Venezuelan-born backstop’s offensive development has stalled out in the upper minors Cartaya slashed a combined .254/.389/.503 with 22 homers and a 14.3% walk rate across two Class-A levels He’s followed that with lackluster performances in both Double-A (.204/.303/.379 in two seasons) and Triple-A (.208/.293/.350 in 208 plate appearances last year) Though his bat hasn’t progressed, scouting reports in recent seasons have praised improved glovework from the 6’3″, 219-pound Cartaya. Both Baseball America and MLB.com noted in their 2024 midseason reports on Cartaya that he made notable gains with his framing He’d already been touted for plus arm strength though shaky accuracy has led to a roughly average 20% caught-stealing rate in his five minor league seasons the tools are there for Cartaya to be a solid defender behind the plate and a patient OBP-focused hitter in the batter’s box He did turn in a solid .247/.370/.377 slash against lefties last year though that came in just 92 plate appearances and he struggled immensely versus southpaws in a similar sample a year prior Cartaya still has one minor league option year remaining so the Twins can send him to Triple-A to begin the season without needing to pass him through waivers Minnesota has been hopeful of trading Vazquez and a portion of his $10MM salary as they seek to scale back payroll There could well be a market if they’re willing to eat around half that sum and the addition of Cartaya creates some further depth in the event that they do indeed move Vazquez (or the Dodgers will pick up a project right-hander listed at 6’4″ and a 200 pounds signed with the Twins out of the Dominican Republic as part of their 2022 international class He’s spent the past two years — his age-18 and age-19 seasons — pitching for Minnesota’s affiliate in the Dominican Summer League The bottom-line results aren’t much to look at as Vasquez has been tagged for a 8.05 ERA in 57 innings Part of that was a sky-high ERA north of 11.00 in 2023 He pitched to a more palatable 4.99 mark in 30 2/3 frames this past season Command was a major issue for Vasquez in ’23 cutting that mark in half (10.7%) while nearly doubling his strikeout rate from 17.8% to 32.1% He was a bit older than the average DSL player last year and figures to head to one of the Dodgers’ full-season affiliates in 2025 There’s some obvious bat-missing potential for the lanky right-hander but he’ll need to make further gains with his command and find a way to get left-handed opponents out Vasquez held righties to an awful .203/.309/.290 output in 2024 but was scorched for a .314/.407/.392 line against southpaws Los Angeles Dodgers Minnesota Twins Transactions I had options of Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton but ultimately chose Cal Raleigh to continue my education As a double major with a focus on engineering and poetry I enrolled at Cal Poly Raleigh Wonder how many gems the dodgers dfa on avg…im thinking not many The reason the 40 man is so large is to hold the guys that are not gems the ones that are not stars but fill the roles that teams need in order to function He could be a fine defensive AAAA catcher that hangs out waiting for someone to break a finger or pull a hammy It’s the equivalent of the 5.00 ERA swingman and the banjo hitting utility guy people who know how to act on a major league diamond and can be counted on to be who they are even if we all know they are headed back down when the better option comes back Would love to see him flourish with the Twins well….no need in rushing Rushing now Paul and get a runway to prove that he can backup Jeffers Thoughts to all the Dodger fans and LA residents today But I am an Angels fan in LA (we do exist) and praying for the thousands of people being affected A good buddy of mine lost his house to the fires and is already in AZ Hoped he went to the Reds system as they don’t have many catching prospects on the farm but glad he is going to another small market Hope he can serve as some good depth after Vazquez departs Would love to see this turn out to be a steal It would have been nice for Toronto to make this move but I am sure they called to say “Hi” just so they can say they were “in it” Dodgers are just giving away players for nothing special Cartaya is turning out to be “nothing special”… Too bad the Dodgers didn’t trade him when his value was sky high what once was the golden prospect traded straight across for a coin flip Tells you all you need to know about what the Dodgers felt about Cartaya’s future I think Christian Vasquez would make a ton of sense in San Diego if Minnesota can eat like half of what is owed to him Catching market is pretty empty at this point and the Twins don’t really need 5 catchers on their 40 man seems like the Dodgers got lesser return talent on this deal I was thinking/hoping they could package him with 1 or 2 more players for a lot better return I’ve been checking MLBTradeRumors everyday to see if the Marlins went for him This is what it’s like to be a Marlins fan Make this low risk high reward for nothing for a team that doesn’t spend for do anything make sense and Cartaya for bupkiss while they have trash sitting in the Minors Nicholas without giving them an opportunity and then they slightly flourish when given an opp case of million dollar talent meets ten cent head he believed his own hype and can’t make adjustments has to be a lost cause for the team to just dump him hope he figures things out before the dream ends I honestly thought Cartaya and Lux would be pieces to trade for Luis Robert jr but it makes a lot of sense when you zoom out The Dodgers have three catching prospects toward the top of their pipeline — Cartaya and Dalton Rushing — and Cartaya experienced a tough fall from grace while Feduccia got some play as Austin Barnes' backup in 2024 and Rushing maintains a spot in LA's top five Diego Cartaya's swift DFA after the Dodgers' signing of Hye-seong Kim was shocking in the moment With Will Smith the Dodgers' catcher through 2033 and Feduccia likely their backup catcher of the future (jury's still out on what they'll do with Rushing who projects as being too good to be stuck at backup forever) who batted just .208 in Triple-A last year It never seemed likely that Cartaya would end up back in the Dodgers system but rather that he'd be claimed off of waivers or traded At just 23 years old and with the last vestiges of top prospect hype still attached some hurting team was bound to take a chance on him And that's exactly what happened. On Thursday morning, the Dodgers traded Cartaya to the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez The Dodgers have acquired minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez from the Twins in exchange for catcher Diego Cartaya Although Cartaya's performance over the last few seasons doesn't leave a lot of optimism that he'll be an effective major leaguer he'll at least be closer to getting a shot with the Twins who are likely to give Ryan Jeffers some time at first base Christian Vázquez is also in the last year of his contract and the Twins don't seem to know what to do with Jair Camargo was an international signing for the Twins in 2022 He's pitched 57 innings over two seasons at the Rookie level so far He could be another attempted Dodgers reclamation project but it speaks to Cartaya's decline over the past few seasons and how much his stock has dropped accordingly It'd be risky for the Twins to bring Cartaya up with the intention of depending on him long-term, but he's a cheap alternative for a Minnesota team that's currently in the process of being sold and crashed out spectacularly in 2024. At least Cartaya now has a clearer runway to the majors, which is more than Rushing can say © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands With Will Smith the Dodgers' catcher through 2033 and Feduccia likely their backup catcher of the future (jury's still out on what they'll do with Rushing And that's exactly what happened. On Thursday morning, the Dodgers traded Cartaya to the Twins in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez It'd be risky for the Twins to bring Cartaya up with the intention of depending on him long-term, but he's a cheap alternative for a Minnesota team that's currently in the process of being sold and crashed out spectacularly in 2024. At least Cartaya now has a clearer runway to the majors, which is more than Rushing can say By | January 6 here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today: Could Santander’s market be heating up seeing as it took a major alternative to the switch-hitter’s services off the board Santander’s reported asking price of $100MM over five years may serve as a sticking point in negotiations that drags things out a bit longer particularly after Hernandez signed for just three years and $66MM it’s easy to see why that sort of performance made Cartaya expendable for the Dodgers his status as a former top prospect and the ever-present need around baseball for upper-level catching depth could make Cartaya an attractive potential option on the trade market for rival clubs to the point where it’s easy to imagine Cartaya not making it to the waiver wire The Dodgers have only a few days to work out a trade before they’ll need to expose the catcher to waivers—could a deal come together today The Opener Why would any team trade much at all or anything for Cartaya when he’s not even close to major league ready and will be a free agent at the end of the season He still has one more year in the minors before he has to be added to the ML roster so it buys another team a year to see if he still has it i don’t think it will cost much for him but he may get included in a larger deal that fixes LAD roster crunch Too many guys are on the ML roster and someone has to be dealt I think they would want international signing money for him No team can trad international signing money until January 15th Cartaya will have to be put through waivers before then so signing money can’t legally be trade d for him Can they do future considerations to get the International money after the 15th I’m thinking the Dodgers have a trade lined up already but put him in DFA limbo to see if a better offer would materialize may take a shot on a reclamation project with top 100 prospect pedigree The Rays starting catcher tandem of Rortvedt and Jansen doesn’t inspire much offensive confidence and Miami has Fortes who still hasn’t hit much after a few years you’re not wrong that the Dodgers may not get much Probably a low level reliever in a similar boat He will be a minor league free agent in two years He would be eligible for minor league free agency now if he was not on a 40 man roster that is if minor league free agency began today since the offseason is in full swing and cartaya has zero career outrights and less than 7 years in the minors he would be stashed in aaa for the dodgers for the next season But yes since he is controlled via options and has one remaining Some teams not near the top of waiver wire list priority would be interested since he’s at least come along well defensively (by far the most important attribute at that position) Maybe he can be a cheap young backup catcher even if the bat doesn’t improve much He will be claimed quick if LAD can’t extract something of help I think the Twins would be a good landing spot Paul and figure out if he’s a reasonable backup to Jeffers once Vazquez leaves It’s not like the Twins have any strong carchers at AAA anyway I have been following Diego since the Dodgers signed him as a highly regarded international prospect I have read a number of similar comments about potential interest from teams with similar depth problems at catcher Cartaya hit really in 2021 and 2022 as a 19/20 year-old at low and high A with OPS at or above .900 Longenhagen (Fangraphs) had him as the Dodgers’ #3 prospect a year ago before he struggled at AA and AAA as a 22-23 year-old It appears he has continued to develop well as a receiver I hope he lands somewhere where he is supported with what he needs to make the corrections that will allow him to realize his potential The key concept here is “much.” They could get a mid-level prospect or lottery ticket for him The Dodgers no doubt have a good feel for the market and chose this moment to DFA him for a reason The Dodgers have a preternatural feel for the market now “market whisperers.” Every day it seems like the Dodgers attain a new magical power to seduce and stymie everybody else They seem to have mesmerized a lot of fans From the talk you’d think they’d signed half of the KBO and NPB and snapped up every MLB free agent worth having I have a feeling the MLBTR servers will melt down if Sasaki chooses the Dodgers The word ‘apoplectic’ comes to mind MLBTR readers will become apoplectic if Sasaki chooses LA because Seattle does have a smidgen of a chance with him So I will have to quickly temper myself if that happens Or I’ll go jump in the Puget Sound for a Polar Bear swim and who seems to be capped as a 3WAR player really worth 5/$20M I don’t mean to dis him–he certainly has some value but the market doesn’t seem to be saying there’s a huge demand I mean if one win is worth $9mm than yes he’s worth easily $27 mm per year in the very short term I always thought the “one win per X$” was situational If you are a team that can afford $27M and are replacing a black hole with the expenditure and that’s a difference-maker for playoffs Tony had struggles staying healthy here in Baltimore Word on the streets of Charm City was that he saw the value in taking care of his body including better eating habits And always mentally a gamer with a joy to it Can’t believe Elias would let that walk this is his best season and that slash line isn’t pretty Three years at 20 million per would be what he’s being offered He’s also a switch hitter with great splits he’s asking for below market rate annually to seek more years I’d probably be gun shy on that contact term 3/70 or even 4/90 would be preferable to me if I were a GM Fair comment–I’m focussing on his negatives and you his positives I guess that the thing about a guy with an apparent mid-range ceiling is what you do with him and the impact he has on your budget when his ceiling gets a little lower Whoever signs him also gives up a draft pick As an Os fan I would start to think he’s not worth playing everyday then he would go on an insane run that would make me think they need to bring him back His personality is infectious and he seems to be getting better with age as he’s gained experience and learned how to care for his body My opinion is that whatever team that signs him will get great value for a year or two and terrible value for a year or two The AAV is reasonable but no way I would sign him for 5 years unless it’s like 5/75 and stats aside…I’m going to miss Tony Taters When he’s hitting and having fun he’s among the most enjoyable players in the game who – lord help her – doesn’t like baseball is happy to exclaim “Tony Taters!” after a homerun Your wife doesn’t like baseball ???? you should be teaching her Strat-O-Matic baseball or something Definitely not for an Angels team that is more than one or two bats away from contention the $100 million or so of Arte’s money isn’t the issue We pick 3rd in the second round this year (46th overall pick due to the comp picks) and would also lose international signing money Only Arte would want to forgo that draft position And with somebody paying Roki 100% of their international money there’s going to be some bonus talent available to buy If Santander could get 4 years at 88M and an op out he might sign He’s 30 years old and wants a contract that will take him into his 35/36 year Toronto made an offer but why would Santander ever sign in Toronto right now Vlad and Bo plan to leave at end of this year why would he want to play with a bunch of pour minor leaguers that Shapiro and Atkins have brought to this organization The ones that have to leave this team in order for Toronto to get better as an MLB organization from top to bottom including the crappy minor league players these two guys have assembled Rogers has to wake up but it does not help when the fans flock to the Rogers centre to basically party and not care of product on the field and as long as Rogers keeps lining there pockets He would sign in Toronto if they offered the most years/money I am a Jays fan and they are awful and should not be signing Santander (should be blowing it up) but sadly he will go to the Jays if they offer the most This isnt an Ohtani situation where he can take significantly less money since he will be a billionaire anyways He wont care where the guaranteed money comes from I could see a team going 5 to get it done What other large market team still has need and budget for him Eventually someone will take Toronto’s money You don’t know what Vlad and Bo plan to do The players say they’;d like to stay Great Florida recovery/training facilities (which affects taxes in a positive way Team is not doing re-builds but re-stock on fly Avoided tax on spending by making strong summer trades Have one of best pitching line-ups (starters) and not afraid to spend… Unfortunately the team is in such a pathetic state right now I think most FA treat them like they have funny money They’re not contenders and don’t appear close The immediate future of the franchise is – at best – in flux and potentially among the least attractive in the game Some guys likely have no interest in Canada Some have no interest in their weaker economy And some want to enjoy certain considerations (lower taxes When considering all these strikes against the Jays we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Jays can’t seem to given their money away I know what he wants but we don’t always get what we want and I don’t think he’s going to get the extra year nor will he get more than that 20 aav for “giving up” the extra year if he went down to 3 years I could see him getting better than the Hernandez deal American sports don’t work like Euro soccer Relegation like you’re proposing is impossible regardless of having enough high level players Pretty sure the owners of those teams (and all of MLB) would shoot that down the moment it’s mentioned they’re adding teams through expansion Relegating the bottom three teams would be impossible in baseball In European soccer there are no minor leagues The equivalent for baseball would be sending the bottom three to AAA Reinsdorf and whoever owns the Rockies and Marlins Let’s start with getting rid of your favorite team and go from there Lack of demand can be helped by more teams I have to assume Teoscar took a discount to go to Dodgers (and deferrals) but I guess we dont know what the other offers were I know he is 2 years younger but Teoscar has more speed Can’t believe that Teo can be considered better defensively Santander is a switch hitter and good on-base stats Would not be shocked by Cartaya to the Red Sox Their catching corps is abysmal right now beyond Wong and some decent Single A prospects Wouldn’t mind seeing the Twins attempt to land Cartaya Vazquez will surely part ways with the team after this season (if not traded before then) and the Twins will need catching depth behind Jeffers If all you want is catching depth there are a million dudes floating around who can put on the gear Cartaya is interesting because he’s so young and until 2023 really COULD hit The Cardinals will most likely have a catcher to trade at this year’s trade deadline Ivan Herrera for Luke Keaschall seems fair Thanks for this scene setter for what will be a very busy news week worldwide I’m told by a source in Toronto that there are offers and trades cooking there; it will be interesting to see what come of these “multiple” scenarios Why would anyone want to come here if Vlad and Bo sign no extensions to their contracts .If Atkin and Shapiro do not do that first why would they come here to play with a bunch of pour players these guys have put together at minor league levels and MLB roster Rogers wake up and get players not alway refurbishing the stadium to line your pockets with your overpriced ticket fees and vending prices Not extending Vlad Jr would actually be a selling point since they can later spend it on different/more quality players They are not even good with him making much less now than he will on open market so him going elsewhere also wouldn’t be a significant turn off to future FAs Players know business is business and Toronto likes to spend its way to relevance (just a matter of who they will overpay in lieu of Vlad/Bichette-who may privately prefer to go elsewhere anyhow) You seem to be oblivious to the limited number of Major League job openings There isn’t a single job in the majors that isn’t preferred to a minor league position I don’t think any four of those players would get them to the playoffs I think they’d be good instead of awful if they signed Santander But I think they’re more than those 4 guys behind the Os & Yankees on paper “and it’s fair to note that while Nolan Arenado’s availability on the trade market appears to be a factor holding up Bregman’s free agency…” Yeah once Bregman signs Arenado gets dealt shortly after but not sooner but quote “couldn’t get things over the finish line” LA should be able to get a decent single A prospect for him to restock and keep their pool churning out quality players Cartaya will be dealt for a borderline major league reliever with high spin rates and multiple option years remaining The dodgers will fix him and then he’ll be the set-up man come July pitching to a 2.40 ERA while some team will scream that they got fleeced as Cartaya hits .196 in AAA with middling power Yeah but he’ll only throw about 20 innings before he gets hurt and spends the next 4 years bouncing on and off the IL I guess he’ll have to comfort himself with that World Series ring while doing rehab I guess you didn’t read where this his last option year He was already added to the Dodgers 40 man roster that started the clock mets will surprise everyone and sign flaherty REDSOX GRAB THIS CATCHER SIGN BREGMAN AND SCOTT AND NO OTHER TRADES If he doesn’t project to hit above .260,i wouldn’t him but there’s simply too much OF talent on the O’s to allocate the money it would take to keep him around That money is best spent on locking in the young talent they have I think anyone who signs santadar is going to regret it Homer’s but doesn’t walk and his obp is low 2.9 or so last year is going to go down over the life of a contract Cartaya is an interesting low-risk addition The 23-year-old from Venezuela was a top prospect just a few years ago but things didn't go to plan for him and he was designated for assignment last week The Twins are clearly hoping that a change of scenery could rejuvenate his once-promising career Cartaya was initially signed as a highly-touted international free agent in 2018 he played on the NL team in the All-Star Futures Game After shining at the Low-A and High-A levels for a couple years — he hit 22 home runs and had an .892 OPS in 2022 — Cartaya was a consensus top-20 prospect in baseball heading into the 2023 season There was hope that he would bounce back the following year but Cartaya had a similarly rough 2024 season split between Double-A and Triple-A hitting .221 with 11 homers and a .686 OPS which is why the Twins were able to get him for a low-level prospect like Vasquez who had a 4.99 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 30.2 innings in the Dominican Summer League this year For a team like the Twins that has to find creative ways to add talent due to self-imposed payroll restrictions at the major league level He's still only 23 years old and clearly possesses a lot of raw talent 219-pound catcher has a lot of pop in his bat and is solid behind the plate defensively He just hasn't hit very much and has struck out far too often over the past two seasons so his approach at the plate needs plenty of work The Twins currently have Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez as their catching tandem with Jair Camargo third on the organizational depth chart But Vazquez has struggled and could be traded for salary relief this offseason and the 25-year-old Camargo — who also began his career with the Dodgers organization — is coming off a rough year of his own with Triple-A St Paul is where Cartaya will presumably play in 2025 If the Twins' hitting coaches can help him turn things around there's a chance he could factor into the team's future at an important position Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartaya no longer have the chance to make their MLB debuts together As two of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top prospects in 2024 they were likely going to make appearances with the Dodgers in 2025 While Rushing remains in the Dodgers organization, Los Angeles traded Cartaya in January. The Dodgers initially designated the catcher for assignment to make room for utility Hyeseong Kim. A few days later, Los Angeles agreed to trade Cartaya to the Minnesota Twins for right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez More News: Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw Have Agreed to Terms on New Contract for 2025 Season “Baseball is an actual business. You see it more and more the longer you play,” Rushing said to Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain Both Rushing and Cartaya earned their first promotions to Triple-A last season The pair of catchers worked alongside each other and were Los Angeles’ two best catching prospects last season More News: Ryan Brasier Breaks Silence on Dodgers Trading Him to Cubs That’s the way you look at it in baseball,” Rushing said to McKain “I think it’s a very exciting opportunity for him and I hope nothing but the best for him.” Struggles at the plate as he progressed through the farm system suggested Cartaya would not have a future with Los Angeles. Rushing surpassed Cartaya as the Dodgers’ top catching prospect, earning the Dodgers’ Minor League Player of the Year Award in 2024. But, Cartaya is now one of five catchers listed on the Twins’ depth chart and will hope to make his MLB debut in 2025 Have you joined our Discord Channel yet Be a part of the ultimate Dodgers Nation community and get VIP Nation Access I remember checking into his early evaluations He was projected to be a solid offensive and defensive catcher Hopefully he takes advantage of his opportunity and does a reset Being number five on the depth chart means he has some work to do Freddie will play for the Dodgers as long as he wants to and his physically able Muncy has a better chance of going back to first than Rushing Rushing’s best spots are platooning in left field and as a back-up to Will Smith as soon as Barnes retires (as soon as Kershaw retires…) and as a bat off the bench Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Vasquez had a 4.99 ERA while striking out 45 batters in 30 2/3 innings while going 4-0 for the Dominican Summer League last season The 20-year-old right-hander is 5-2 with an 8.05 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 57 innings over two seasons in the DSL He was signed by the Twins in December 2022 Cartaya played 93 games at Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City last season The 23-year-old Venezuelan had 66 home runs and 235 RBI in 363 minor league games for the Dodgers He signed in July 2018 for a $2.5 million bonus Written by RotoWire Staff The Twins outrighted Cartaya to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster. Cartaya was acquired via trade from the Dodgers over the offseason and is just 2-for-25 with an 18:4 K:BB in his first 29 plate appearances with St. Paul this season. LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have traded catcher Diego Cartaya to the Minnesota Twins for minor league right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez Vasquez played in the Dominican Summer League for two seasons The new right-handed pitcher for the Dodgers had a record of 5-2 with an 8.05 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 57 innings Cartaya was designated for assignment by the Dodgers to make space on the 40-man roster for Hyeseong Kim the Dodgers had seven days to trade him in order to gain something in return for a catcher they once believed could be the next Mike Piazza splitting time between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City Cartaya had a batting average of just .189 with 19 home runs and 10 doubles over the 93 games played for Double-A Tulsa before his promotion to Triple-A he concluded the season with a .643 OPS and six home runs he has participated in 363 minor league games for the Dodgers The Dodgers signed Cartaya as an international free agent in 2018 It appears that pressure was hindering Cartaya's progress in the minors The Dodgers are not rushing to promote another catcher to the major leagues but there is always increasing pressure to consistently improve on the field was designated for assignment by LA on Friday Jarrett Seidler at Baseball Prospectus wrote about the declining performance of Cartaya over the years and how he and many others missed when ranking him so high on prospect lists the missing piece on Cartaya might have been eye scouting all along His swing is pretty as right-handed swings go Low-A pitching got a whole lot worse coming out of the pandemic because of the minor-league contraction his quality of contact and contact ability both imploded Joe Sheehan at his eponymous newsletter was skeptical of the reported Reds plan of using Gavin Lux at multiple positions: projects to be bad at third base and in right field he probably can’t be just an ordinary utility player He’s been a below-average hitter for his career and in his best years a little better than that Lux is a second baseman as much as any player in baseball is any one thing Diego Cartaya was a promising prospect who stalled in the Los Angeles organization. Only two years ago Diego Cartaya was considered one of the top catching prospects in all the minor leagues, and now the Twins are accepting the task of trying to fix him. The Twins acquired Cartaya in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday for minor league righthander Jose Vasquez. Cartaya was designated for assignment last Friday, giving the Dodgers a week to trade him or place him on waivers. Cartaya, 23, played 95 games between Class AA and AAA last year, batting .221 with 11 homers, 52 RBI and 113 strikeouts. The Dodgers made him expendable because they have All-Star catcher Will Smith signed to a long-term contract and he was surpassed by another catcher prospect Dalton Rushing. Named the Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year in 2022, Cartaya’s star began to dim after he struggled at Class AA Tulsa in 2023. He hit .189 with 117 strikeouts in 344 at-bats while recording 19 homers and 57 RBI. He’s always shown good power — Baseball America rated him as the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect before the 2022 and ’23 seasons, and he played in the 2022 MLB Futures Game — but his strikeout rate spiked once he reached the upper levels of the minor leagues. Vasquez, 20, hasn’t pitched above the Dominican Summer League level. He had a 4.99 ERA in 30 innings last year with 45 strikeouts and 15 walks. Cartaya, a Venezuela native, filled the last open spot on the Twins’ 40-man roster. The Twins now have five catchers on their 40-man roster: Cartaya, Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vázquez, Jair Camargo and Mickey Gasper. Without any changes, Cartaya and Camargo are lined up to receive the bulk of the catching opportunities at Class AAA while Gasper is a utility player who can catch. The Twins reached one-year contracts with all eight of their remaining arbitration-eligible players Thursday, so they will avoid any arbitration hearings, and they have a more complete picture of their current payroll. The eight players who agreed to deals included utilityman Willi Castro ($6.4 million), Jeffers ($4.55 million), closer Jhoan Duran ($4.125 million), starter Bailey Ober ($3.55 million), starter Joe Ryan ($3 million), reliever Griffin Jax ($2.365 million), outfielder Trevor Larnach ($2.1 million) and infielder Royce Lewis ($1.625 million). The Twins have $122.1 million committed to 17 players for the upcoming season, which includes all their players on long-term contracts and arbitration-eligible players who settled earlier in the offseason. The Twins, one of eight clubs who have yet to sign a major league free agent this winter, currently have an estimated Opening Day payroll close to $130 million. The Twins are expected to keep their payroll at the same level as last year, which was $130 million. Among the eight arbitration-eligible players who reached deals Thursday, Castro, a 2024 All-Star, is the only one set to become a free agent after the coming season. The Twins contemplated moving Jax to the starting rotation, a move that yielded success for several converted relievers around the league last year, such as Garrett Crochet, Reynaldo López and Seth Lugo. “Our plan is to keep Griff in the bullpen for 2025,” Jeremy Zoll, the new Twins general manager, said on the team’s “Inside Twins” radio show Wednesday. “Obviously, he was tremendously valuable in 2024. We feel like he’s one of the best relievers in the game and feel really good about that role and plan for the upcoming year. We know Griff is excited about that as well.” Jax, who was a starter during his first year in the big leagues, had a 2.03 ERA in 71 innings last season with 95 strikeouts and 15 walks. His velocity jumped as a one-inning reliever, but he still features a five-pitch mix that earned him consideration for a potential return to starter. His idea: "For the amount of money we spend on cookies, let’s just open up our own shop." The Twins made roster moves during Monday's off-day, and Lewis will make his season debut on Tuesday. The Twins scored two runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth and held on for their second consecutive one-run victory at Boston. The Minnesota Twins had plenty of questions this offseason but one of the sneakiest is what would happen at catcher. Ryan Jeffers is entrenched as the team’s starter but trade rumors around Christian Vázquez and an uncertain future for Jair Camargo made fans wonder what the Twins’ battery could look like when they open the season The Twins provided another piece to the puzzle when they acquired Diego Cartaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. A former top 100 prospect Cartaya adds another interesting player to a situation that currently has five backstops on the 40-man roster and brings intrigue for what they could do this season Here’s a look at how the Twins catchers stack up and what their expectations could be this season Jeffers was the main catcher for the Twins last season but he wasn’t able to replicate his strong 2023 season seeing his batter’s line drop from .276/.369/.490 to .226/.300/.432 Jeffers still slugged 21 homers and drove in 64 RBI in a career-high 122 games but his defense took a hit with -4 defensive runs saved in 86 games behind the plate it was the first season in his career with a negative DRS and he should get an even bigger workload as the Twins head into 2025 Vázquez is the least likely to play for the Twins next season Vázquez’s defense remains elite as his seven defensive runs saved were his highest total since posting 11 in 2022 hitting .222/.265/.322 with 13 homers and 59 RBI in two seasons with the Twins With $10 million remaining on his three-year Vázquez is a popular trade candidate and is likely to be moved before Opening Day If Vázquez is traded, the Twins are going to need a backup catcher. With most free agent options exhausted, the trade market was the next best option and led to Minnesota acquiring Mickey Gasper on Christmas Eve. A 29-year-old is typically known as a “Quad-A” player and Gasper has just 13 games of major league experience after last year’s call-up with the Boston Red Sox But he’s hit in each level of the minor leagues including a .328/.440/.531 batter’s line with 12 home runs and 58 RBI in the Boston organization last season If he can figure out the defensive aspect of his game he could be the frontrunner to start the season as the Twins’ backup Before Thursday’s trade, Camargo was a solid bet to make an unexpected impact for the Twins this season hitting .259/.323/.503 with 21 homers and 53 RBI for Triple-A St Paul in 2023 but his impatient approach at the plate caused him to slide to a .212/.290/.403 line with 12 homers and 51 RBI for the Saints last season Camargo did make his major league debut last season and will likely be a call away from the majors to open next season But his 29 percent strikeout rate from last season needs to come down for him to stick in Minneapolis Cartaya is the final piece to this puzzle after being acquired on Thursday A consensus top-20 prospect before the 2023 season Cartaya’s stock dropped considerably as his bat failed to progress on his way through the Dodgers system While a .208/.293/.350 line with six homers and 25 RBI is disappointing, there are some positives to Cartaya’s game. The first is that Cartaya was nearly five years younger than the average player at the Triple-A level last season and his defense has improved considerably according to MLB Pipeline’s midseason report. If Cartaya can find a way to become an average hitter he should make his way to the majors this summer The Twins provided another piece to the puzzle when they acquired Diego Cartaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. A former top 100 prospect If Vázquez is traded, the Twins are going to need a backup catcher. With most free agent options exhausted, the trade market was the next best option and led to Minnesota acquiring Mickey Gasper on Christmas Eve. Before Thursday’s trade, Camargo was a solid bet to make an unexpected impact for the Twins this season While a .208/.293/.350 line with six homers and 25 RBI is disappointing, there are some positives to Cartaya’s game. The first is that Cartaya was nearly five years younger than the average player at the Triple-A level last season and his defense has improved considerably according to MLB Pipeline’s midseason report. If Cartaya can find a way to become an average hitter The Minnesota Twins have plenty of catching depth after acquiring the top 100 prospect from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday morning Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here The Dodgers have made the decision to designate former top prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment. The move comes after the team officially signed Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim More news: Shohei Ohtani Reacts to Dodgers Signing Hyeseong Kim With 3-Word Message The Dodgers have announced the Hyeseong Kim signing.They designated former top prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment. The Dodgers needed to clear room on the 40-man roster for Kim, who was officially signed to a three-year, $12.5 million deal with a two-year club option for 2028 and 2029. Designating Cartaya for assignment comes as a surprise, though. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dodgers Nation (@dodgersnation) Cartaya, 23, was once considered the top prospect in the Dodgers organization. In 2023, he was ranked as the team’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. However he’s struggled at the plate ever since he was promoted to Double-A in 2023 Cartaya slashed .189/.278/.379 with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs he slashed .221/.323/.363 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs Cartaya initially joined the Dodgers in 2018 as an international free agent out of Venezuela He rose the ranks of the minor leagues and appeared to be the catcher of the future in Los Angeles following Will Smith’s emergence at catcher as well as catcher Dalton Rushing’s emergence as the team’s top prospect it became clear that Cartaya may not have a future in this organization where he’ll have a chance to be claimed by all 29 teams The Dodgers could also try to trade him to a team looking to skip the waiver order and add the 23-year-old catcher Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports January 15 is the beginning of MLB’s 2025 international signing period and begins an eight-day window to sign Sasaki the 23-year-old pitcher who could make an immediate impact for his new team Jen Ramos Eisen at Defector compared the media scrum at the winter meetings of Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe to a mosh pit and also succinctly described what makes the 23-year-old right-hander so enticing to major league teams “Sasaki is a very unusual sort of free agent: much closer to big-league ready than the teenagers typical of the international free agent class,” Ramos Eisen wrote “but subject to restrictive bonus in a way that last year’s blue-chip NPB posting Because of the limited bonus restrictions of the international signing period, teams in the running for Sasaki could end up going back on earlier verbal agreements with prospects previously committed for 2025. Ben Badler at Baseball America wrote about this practice a team has already lost a player it expected to sign a lanky 6-foot-5 lefthanded hitter with big power upside was set to be one of the Dodgers’ top 2025 signings With the uncertainty of the Dodgers’ situation given that they might land Sasaki a bonus that’s around twice as much money he would have gotten from the Dodgers The Dodgers on Thursday traded catcher Diego Cartaya to the Twins for minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs analyzed the trade Cartaya has either plateaued or regressed in basically every facet of the game.” Longenhagen sees a future in relief for Vasquez but his path to the majors could be a long one: The Minnesota Twins are adding depth at the catcher position acquiring 23-year-old prospect Diego Cartaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez Cartaya has been in the Dodgers’ farm system since he was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2018 Cartaya split time between Triple-A Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa posting a .221 batting average and a .323 on-base percentage hitting 16 doubles and 11 home runs in 95 games Cartaya was once considered one of the Dodgers’ top prospects winning the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year Award in 2022 and playing in the All-Star Futures Game that same year his output began to falter once he was called up to play Double-A ball in 2023 Pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KSTP via our online form or call 651-646-5555 former top prospect Diego Cartaya was caught in the crosshairs of the Los Angeles Dodgers loaded roster he's trying to earn a spot with the Minnesota Twins as they work to make the playoffs once again Cartaya was the subject of a story recently in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in which he addressed his career and his former top prospect status Former Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya hopes to remake himself with the Twins this year “I just think ‘prospect’ means that you’re a minor leaguer and I don’t want to be a minor leaguer for my whole life.” Former Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya hopes to remake himself with the Twins this year. “I just think ‘prospect’ means that you’re a minor leaguer, and I don’t want to be a minor leaguer for my whole life.” https://t.co/IxLO7SDc8X Cartaya is currently one of four catchers on the 40-man roster for Minnesota joining veterans Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez Minnesota is coming off a season in which it finished fourth in the American League Central missing the playoffs as result of a late-season collapse he'll likely begin the year in Triple-A MEIDROTH MAKING AN IMPACT: Chicago White Sox trade piece Chase Meidroth was one of 11 rookies projected to make a big impact in 2025. CLICK HERE: SLOWED DOWN: Rhett Lowder, one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, might not be ready for Opening Day because of elbow issues. CLICK HERE: THE MARTIAN: Jasson Dominguez is ready to take flight for the Yankees in 2025. CLICK HERE: The catching prospect made it to Triple-A at age 22 this season How we look at Diego Cartaya’s 2024 season is a matter of expectations But the catcher once regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball has struggled at the plate for two straight years Cartaya was ranked the 68th-best prospect in the sport by FanGraphs and 85th at The Athletic and in the range of 101-110 at both The Athletic and MLB Pipeline .512 OPS in 18 games — and his finish with Triple-A Oklahoma City — 8-for-65 But in between he hit 10 of his 11 home runs on the season in a 59-game stretch during which he hit .274/.359/.466 with a 118 wRC+ and 44 RBI from May 12 to August 16 first in Double-A with Dalton Rushing then in Triple-A with Hunter Feduccia with Rushing shifting mostly to left field after getting promoted to Oklahoma City Cartaya started 69 games behind the plate and made 26 starts as designated hitter this season The Dodgers promoted Cartaya to Triple-A on June 25 hitting .208/.293/.350 in 49 games for Oklahoma City compared to a 111 wRC+ in 46 games for Double-A Tulsa A path for potential success might be seen in Cartaya one year ago when he had just a 71 wRC+ in 93 games for Tulsa before performing better in his second time around with the league and he’s on the 40-man roster and in Triple-A just one step away from reaching the majors even if his performance to date might not suggest it Promise has been the calling card for years with Cartaya There is still time left to deliver on that promise but as someone with only one option year remaining 2025 will likely be his last opportunity to get his foot in the door in Los Angeles Salary: unknown; but as a non-first-year player on the 40-man roster, the minimum salary while in the minors was $120,600 On August 7, Cartaya was the designated hitter for Oklahoma City and delivered on the job description, hitting two home runs against Round Rock with a season-high five RBI GRAND SLAM AND TWO-HOMER GAME BY DIEGO CARTAYA!!! pic.twitter.com/0WYxbtlAaE Cartaya is on the 40-man roster and could make his major league debut at some point in 2025 Major League Baseball had catcher Diego Cartaya then a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization After clearing waivers on Friday, Cartaya will stay with the Twins organization in Triple-A St. Paul, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes Minnesota acquired Cartaya from the Dodgers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez on January 9 In 29 plate appearances for the Saints this season the former Dodger prospect is hitting .080/.207/.200 with 18 strikeouts Cartaya signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2018 He was ranked #3 in his international signing class by MLB Cartaya looked poised to be a Major League All-Star after his first two seasons with the Dodgers organization above the rookie league He hit .298/.409/.614 with 10 home runs in 137 plate appearances for the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2021 and .254/.389/.503 with 22 home runs in 445 plate appearances amid a call-up to High-A Great Lakes in 2022 Cartaya struggled immediately after making the jump to Double-A to start the 2023 season hitting .189/.278/.376 with 19 home runs in 403 plate appearances for the Tulsa Drillers the former top international prospect spent time with the Drillers and Triple-A Oklahoma City hitting .221/.323/.363 with 11 home runs in 400 plate appearances Cartaya’s outright is very telling of how the Twins view the catcher’s potential to make an impact at the major league level and the fact that he cleared waivers indicates the rest of the league feels the same way Rocco Baldelli has been opting to start Ryan Jeffers at the catcher position significantly more often than Christian Vázquez this year whereas the two split the position more evenly the last two seasons Vázquez, a two-time World Series Champion, is hitting .152/.194/.273 in 36 plate appearances this season while Jeffers has been heating up at the plate going 8-for-24 with three walks over the Twins’ last seven games they were likely hoping they could unlock the part of him that was so successful in Single-A Vázquez likely would have been DFA'd in favor of Cartaya ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"6a","src":"6b","url":"6c"},{"type":"69","value":"6d"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"6g","url":"6h"},{"type":"6f","value":"6i"},"All Rights Reserved Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands He is a senior majoring in Electronic Media at Texas State University where he also serves as the sports editor for the school’s student-run newspaper He is a lifelong fan of the Minnesota Twins he enjoys hanging out with his girlfriend and dog After clearing waivers on Friday, Cartaya will stay with the Twins organization in Triple-A St. Paul, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes Minnesota acquired Cartaya from the Dodgers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jose Vasquez on January 9 Rocco Baldelli has been opting to start Ryan Jeffers at the catcher position significantly more often than Christian Vázquez this year Vázquez, a two-time World Series Champion, is hitting .152/.194/.273 in 36 plate appearances this season, while Jeffers has been heating up at the plate, going 8-for-24 with three walks over the Twins’ last seven games. When the Twins acquired Cartaya, they were likely hoping they could unlock the part of him that was so successful in Single-A. If that happened, Vázquez likely would have been DFA'd in favor of Cartaya. The Minnesota Twins made a surprising move acquiring former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday morning The trade, which sends minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez back to the Dodgers, helps the Minnesota Twins bolster their catching depth as they acquire a player who was ranked 14th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list before the 2023 season Cartaya signed as an international free agent with the Dodgers in 2018 and quickly became one of baseball’s top prospects The Venezuelan made his debut on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list by ranking 97th in 2020 and broke onto MLB Pipeline’s top prospect list at No That year was big for Cartaya as he hit .254/.389/.503 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI between Low-A Rancho Cucamonga and High-A Great Lakes but his bat lagged as he reached Double-A Tulsa hitting .189/.278/.379 with 19 homers and 57 RBI in 2023 Cartaya performed better in a second season with Tulsa hitting .236/.354/.379 with five homers and 27 RBI across 46 games but once again struggled after he was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City hitting .208/.293/.350 with six homers and 25 RBI But while his bat hasn’t come around, his defense has improved according to MLB.com’s midseason report. “Handling one of the best pitching staffs in the Minors framing and blocking and he should become a solid or better defender though he needs to improve his accuracy and he earns praise for his game-planning Cartaya has one minor league option remaining and will likely start the season at Triple-A St. Paul. While his bat needs to progress to make his major league debut next season, his arrival gives the Twins options moving forward even if they decide to trade Christian Vázquez. Ryan Jeffers will open 2025 as the Twins’ primary catcher but Minnesota also acquired Mickey Gasper in a trade with the Boston Red Sox on Christmas Eve Jair Camargo also remains in the system and will team with Cartaya in St As Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic notes the Twins now have five catchers on the 40-man roster heading into next season ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"69","src":"6a","url":"6b"},{"type":"68","value":"6c"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"6f","url":"6g"},{"type":"6e","value":"6h"},"All Rights Reserved where he promptly hit the \"failed-middle-school-athlete-to-writer\" pipeline Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and has written for numerous sites since 2011 A pro wrestling enthusiast when he's not watching sports The trade, which sends minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez back to the Dodgers, helps the Minnesota Twins bolster their catching depth as they acquire a player who was ranked 14th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list before the 2023 season But while his bat hasn’t come around, his defense has improved according to MLB.com’s midseason report. Cartaya has one minor league option remaining and will likely start the season at Triple-A St. Paul. While his bat needs to progress to make his major league debut next season, his arrival gives the Twins options moving forward even if they decide to trade Christian Vázquez. Ryan Jeffers will open 2025 as the Twins’ primary catcher but Minnesota also acquired Mickey Gasper in a trade with the Boston Red Sox on Christmas Eve As Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic notes The Minnesota Twins bolstered their catching depth acquiring former top prospect Diego Cartaya in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers shipping a former top prospect to the Minnesota Twins Los Angeles sent catcher Diego Cartaya to the Twins in exchange for minor-league pitcher Jose Vasquez. Cartaya was long thought to be the team's future backstop and was the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect on MLB Pipeline as recently as 2023, and MLB.com rated him as the No. 14 prospect in all of baseball before the 2023 campaign The 23-year-old Cartaya has yet to reach the major leagues and spent the 2024 season split between Double-A and Triple-A Cartaya was MLB Pipeline's top-rated player in the 2018 international class, and Los Angeles signed him for $2.5 million out of Venezuela. He was designated for assignment last week to open a 40-man roster spot for the recently signed Hyesong Kim the Dodgers are getting the 20-year-old Vasquez who went 4-0 with a 4.99 ERA for the Twins in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 Sign up Sign in It's time for everything to do with Dodger baseball Listen Diego Cartaya (Carrie Giordano/Los Angeles Dodgers)by Cary Osborne The Dodgers acquired minor league pitcher Jose Vasquez from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher Diego Cartaya on Thursday. Vasquez, 20, appeared in 11 games for Dominican Summer League Twins last season. He struck out 45 batters in 30 2/3 innings while posting a 4.99 ERA and going 4–0. The right-hander was signed by the Twins as an international free agent on December 13, 2022 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cartaya, 23, played in 95 games last year between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City and batted .221/.323/.363/.686 with 11 home runs. He appeared in 363 minor league games for the Dodgers, clubbing 66 homers and driving in 234 runs. He was originally signed as an intentional free agent on July 2, 2018 out of Maracay, Venezuela. Cartaya was MLB.com’s top-rated amateur prospect in the 2018 international class and the Dodgers’ top organizational prospect in 2022 and 2023. He was designated for assignment on Jan. 3 to make room on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster after the signing of 25-year-old Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim. Dodgers writer and editor in his 16th season. Dodgers Director of Digital and Print Publications and Alumni Relations. On Twitter: @thecaryoz Help The Los Angeles Dodgers have shipped former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya to the Minnesota Twins for minor-league pitcher Jose Vasquez The Dodgers designated Cartaya for assignment last week to make room on the active roster for newly acquired infielder Hyeseong Kim Cartaya, 23, entered the 2023 season atop Los Angeles' prospect rankings and 14th overall on MLB Pipeline The team signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2018 The once-promising catcher reached Triple-A last season but struggled at the plate in his 49 appearances: He slashed just .208/.293/.350 with six home runs while striking out 57 times in 183 at-bats He now slots in as the Twins' 23rd-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. Vasquez, 20, pitched in 11 games for the Dominican Summer League Twins in 2024. He struck out 45 batters in 30 2/3 innings. and they're certainly not signing or trading for any players with any type of big dollar amount The Rays are not going big-game hunting this offseason for Juan Soto Their unfortunate stadium situation and usual tight-purse-string methods speak to a team that will need to do their usual thing with roster construction taking on projects and forgotten or unmentioned players to build depth and competence across their organization Enter Diego Cartaya the former top prospect in the Dodger's organization who has fallen out of favor after a step back in production following his promotions to AA and AAA with Will Smith's recent contract extension and Dalton Rushing playing out of his mind he might be so expendable as to not cost anything of real significance Cartaya could likely be acquired for a combination of low-level prospects or included as a fun throw-in for a larger more significant deal involving one of the Rays' "high-priced" talents like Pete Fairbanks or Brandon Lowe What upside does Cartaya still provide despite his middling production in AAA this past season he was ranked as the Dodgers' top prospect as recently as 2021 for good reason; the Venezuelan backstop tore it up in the bottom half of the Dodgers minor league systems with huge power numbers and an acceptable approach at the plate sporting a 71 wRC+ for the Tulsa Drillers in 2023 He rebounded nicely in 2024 with a 111 mark in that category over 46 games at the AA level recording a .350 slugging percentage for his 49 games at the AAA level in 2024 Meanwhile, 23-year-old Dalton Rushing has mashed over his first couple seasons in organized ball He finally earned a promotion to AAA and finished his 2024 campaign there with a .396 OBP as he showed off the elite plate discipline that has many ranking him as one of the best prospects in the Dodgers system much less give him a shot as the Rays starting catcher in 2025 To be honest, there's still massive upside with his power. Cartaya is rated as having 50 raw power currently with a potential for 60 in that category according to FanGraphs This is a rare occurrence for a backstop as he has been taking full advantage of his 6'3 build According to MLB.com's scouting report on Cartaya he also showed improvement defensively in 2023 handling a really quality pitching staff at the AA level and showing a lot of progress across the board defensively If he's able to continue that development behind the dish defensively and cut down on a bit of the swing-and-miss he showed at times the past couple seasons, he could turn himself into a quality starting catcher. This would be a welcomed site as the Rays haven't seen consistency behind the plate since Mike Zunino If they can get away with acquiring Cartaya for not a lot or as part of a bigger package the Rays could find themselves another hidden gem off the scrap heap of the Dodgers abundance of quality prospects ","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"6x","src":"6y","url":"6z"},{"type":"6w","value":"70"},"link","Minute Media","https://www.minutemedia.com/",{"text":"73","url":"74"},{"type":"72","value":"75"},"All Rights Reserved Enter Diego Cartaya Meanwhile, 23-year-old Dalton Rushing To be honest, there's still massive upside with his power. Cartaya is rated as having 50 raw power currently with a potential for 60 in that category according to FanGraphs According to MLB.com's scouting report on Cartaya If he's able to continue that development behind the dish defensively and cut down on a bit of the swing-and-miss he showed at times the past couple seasons, he could turn himself into a quality starting catcher. This would be a welcomed site as the Rays haven't seen consistency behind the plate since Mike Zunino Diego Cartaya might be the odd man out behind the dish with Will Smith's recent extension and Dalton Rushing surging Could the Rays buy low on the former top prospect Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report in just over a month making this an opportune time for teams to tie up any remaining loose ends it means signing another middle reliever; for others it concerns figuring out their backup catcher situation tying up the loose ends involves trading a young player who has become an afterthought Take the Los Angeles Dodgers and backstop Diego Cartaya as an example. They designated him for assignment last week and traded him to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in exchange for right-handed prospect Jose Vasquez Cartaya isn't far removed from being considered a top prospect a young catcher with real power upside and on-base skills His stock has since been diminished by slow introductory periods at both the Double- and Triple-A levels Given that Cartaya will spend most of the upcoming season as a 23-year-old and given that he has a minor-league option remaining you can understand why the budget-strapped Twins are rolling the dice on unlocking his upside It seemed like a matter of "when" and not "if" Cartaya would find himself on the outs -- and "when" finally arrived The same could be true for other notable young players I've highlighted three who lack a clear pathway to a permanent big-league job with their clubs that could make them a compelling trade candidate for teams with less impressive depth charts Before getting to the players in question, I want to reprint a note from last year's version of this piece: "The concept of a blocked prospect is often overapplied teams will almost always find a spot for a compelling young player That might entail asking someone to change a position in this day and age when the value of cost- and team-controlled seasons are understood by front offices and fans alike it might mean trading an entrenched veteran."  Luciano made five consecutive Baseball America top-100 prospect rankings before exhausting his rookie eligibility this past season His appeal was straightforward: he profiled as a left-side infielder with power albeit with some serious hit-tool concerns Luciano has scuffled in the majors and minors alike the last two seasons causing his stock to tumble and the Giants to deviate from old plans Indeed, San Francisco has made long-term commitments at third base (Matt Chapman) and shortstop (Willy Adames) since last summer That leaves Luciano with two possible destinations: another part of the diamond The Giants can certainly justify keeping Luciano into the season, perhaps with an eye on him slotting in at second base if Tyler Fitzgerald stumbles that Luciano will exhaust his final minor-league option this year necessitating they make a call on him at some point over the next 12 to 14 months Seeing as how Luciano still has some marketable attributes -- he's young (23) and he possesses undeniable strength and feel for the strike zone -- I could see the Giants moving him in exchange for a player with a more clear fit on their roster Caissie is a perpetual breakout candidate thanks to his gaudy minor-league exit velocities He reduced his strikeout rate to a career-best 28.4% last season a statement that says plenty about his swing-and-miss tendencies One number working in his favor is his birth year: he'll celebrate only his 23rd birthday come July one number opposing Caissie is the amount of quality outfielders in the Cubs' system Is there a scenario where the Cubs keep Caissie and Alcántara for the long haul But Caissie's name has already surfaced in trade rumors this winter Fabian isn't as good of a prospect as Caissie He's coming off a disastrous introduction to Triple-A where his approach and whiffing tendencies resulted in a nearly 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio he combines center-field athleticism with good strength The Orioles tend to take their time clearing out prospect logjams; just look at how long it took them to move either Connor Norby or Joey Ortiz I'm not sure a resolution is coming quickly for Fabian (or any of the other outfielders for that matter) consider their options heading into the spring as a means of improving parts of their roster The Los Angeles Dodgers made the signing of Hyeseong Kim to a three-year contract official on Friday and in order to make room on their 40-man roster It’s an unceremonious development for Cartaya who once was a former top Dodgers prospect in the organization he’s battled a back injury and a learning curve behind the plate over recent years Cartaya hit just .189/.278/.379 with 10 doubles 19 home runs and 57 RBI over 93 games for Double-A Tulsa in 2023 Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes both voiced confidence in Cartaya being able to bounce back in 2024 “He’s a really naturally talented player who’s coming off a down year,” Friedman said “I’ve seen that a lot in the past with really good players And so it wouldn’t surprise me at all Diego comes out this year and has a really good year.” he continued to largely underwhelm with the Drillers despite some improvements Cartaya nevertheless earned a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City in June, and the organization planned to have him catch upwards of three games per week despite also having Hunter Feduccia on the roster Cartaya batted .208/.293/.350 with eight doubles Cartaya was named the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year by the Dodgers he was ranked by MLB Pipeline among their top 100 prospects The Dodgers now have seven days to potentially trade Cartaya if he were to get claimed off waivers the Dodgers would have the option to send Cartaya outright to the Minors while still keeping him off their 40-man roster for the time being Dalton Rushing’s development seemingly made Cartaya somewhat expendable Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors Get breaking Dodgers News direct to your inbox 7 prospect Diego Cartaya rips a two-run homer to left field in the 6th inning for Triple-A Oklahoma City Ryan Ward hits a walk-off inside-the-park homer