I like to dabble into analytics, and sometimes even fully dive in, but I like to keep a couple of consistencies in my alaysies: if the Dodgers or Rays have given up on a player, it probably means that the rest of the league should as well.
Reclamation projects have become an annual tradition for Los Angeles, from former Nationals like Blake Treinen and Anthony Banda to the bigger names over the years like Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and even Albert Pujols after his career looked to be dead in the water after being let go mid-season by the Angels in 2021.
With that being said, I am going to fully contradict it, and say it is a no brainer to submit a waiver claim for former top prospect Diego Cartaya.
At still only 23 years old, Cartaya peaked as the #18 prospect in baseball in 2023, after being ranked the #23 prospect in baseball in 2022.
Cartaya was signed in 2018 by the Dodgers as a top international prospect for $2.5 million, and quickly put up numbers behind the hype. He impressed in pro ball at only 17 years old in 2019, before breaking out from 2021-2022, posting an OPS over .900 with 32 home runs in 126 games in both high and low A.
Diego Cartaya won the Dodgers MiLB Player of the Year award 2 years ago, now he’s DFA’d.. I get there has been regression in his stats, but clearly the talent is there. Would be very interesting pickup for a team needing C depth.
— RGS (@Real_RGS) January 3, 2025
*AHEM* @RaysBaseball pic.twitter.com/JSAGA0vFQY
Cartaya carried that success into 2022 with similar numbers, with rumblings around the game that he may even prove to be better than Will Smith. Then, his production fell off a cliff from 2023-2024.
Cartaya has battled injuries leading to his production drop off against better competition, failing to post an OPS over .700 in AA and AAA. Throughout his struggles, Cartaya has been strikeing out at high clips, but has continued to be an above average defender, along with maintaining his ability to draw walks.
This is your classic former top prospect that has dealt with injuries and underperformance, looking for a fresh start. The Nationals have done this before with a high waiver selection when we took a flyer on Jeter Doens, and even though it did not work out, I applauded Mike rizzo and Washington for taking a shot.
JETER DOWNS AND THE NATS COMPLETE THE COMEBACK AND WALK IT OFF! pic.twitter.com/CZa1kb4Dz2
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 13, 2023
The Nationals had no catching depth in the minors before the draft, doing a good job at selecting multiple catchers for the lower minor leagues, but could still use more depth closer to the top, and Cartaya would be perfect to play with Drew Millas in AAA.
Hopefully no team will try to trade for Cartaya over the next few days before he has to go through waivers, as the Nationals would not want to give up capital to trade for him.
Since Washington has already swung and missed at one former top Dodgers catching prospect, maybe Cartaya can make up for it.
The San Fransisco Giants gave up on a former top-catching prospect last year in Joey Bart before he was picked up by Pittsburgh and made an immediate impact with a 120 OPS+ in 80 games.
Cartaya will surely be scooped up, presumably by multiple teams that are high on the waiver list if not traded. Cartaya will probably never live up to the hype that he had as a former top prospect, but at worst would be a nice depth piece. I hope the Nationals are one of the teams willing to give him a shot.