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Top shortstop prospects 2023

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MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2023 Top 100 Prospects list at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 26, with a one-hour show on MLB Network and MLB.com. Leading up to the release of the Top 100, we’ll examine baseball’s top 10 prospects at each position.

Every year, the shortstop position is arguably the most loaded among our Top 10 positional lists. The 2023 edition is no different.

Slight spoiler: All 10 of the featured shortstops here will place among MLB Pipeline’s Top 40 overall prospects. Where exactly? Well, you’ll need to come back Thursday to find out.

It’s a young and diverse group of shortstops too. Only three of the 10 (Anthony Volpe, Elly De La Cruz, Ezequiel Tovar) are expected to arrive in the Majors this season, and the oldest (Brooks Lee) was a first-round pick just last year. Six hail from the United States, while three are from the Dominican Republic and one comes from Venezuela. Of those six Americans, five were drafted as high school players, partly explaining why the group is so young.

The Reds are the only organization with multiple Top 10 shortstops in De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte, and fellow Cincinnati infielder Edwin Arroyo didn’t miss by much. Similarly, Top 100 stalwarts Colson Montgomery (White Sox), Royce Lewis (Twins) and Masyn Winn (Cardinals) aren’t far off and only fell victim to the depth of the Top 10.

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Anthony Volpe, Yankees (2023)
2. Marcelo Mayer, Red Sox (2024)
3. Elly De La Cruz, Reds (2023)
4. Jordan Lawlar, D-backs (2024)
5. Jackson Holliday, Orioles (2025)
6. Jackson Merrill, Padres (2024)
7. Marco Luciano, Giants (2024)
8. Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies (2023)
9. Noelvi Marte, Reds (2024)
10. Brooks Lee, Twins (2024)
Complete list »

Top 10 prospects by position:
RHP | LHP | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS
1/25: OF
1/26: Top 100

Hit: Lee (65)
The switch-hitter produced a .351 average over 115 career games at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and struck out only 28 times in 286 plate appearances last spring. Lee’s bat-to-ball skills prompted the Twins to take him eighth overall, and his new club couldn’t challenge the bat fast enough, giving him time at Double-A Wichita before his first Minor League season was up.

Power: Luciano (65)
The Giants prospect has the elite bat speed to generate close to plus-plus raw power, and he elevates the ball consistently enough (59 percent of his balls were off the ground at High-A in 2022) to make the most of it. He’s still only entering his age-21 season, right around the time the power could truly pop as he enters the upper Minors for the first time.

Run: De La Cruz (70)
Arguably the most electric player in the entire Minors, De La Cruz has established himself as an absolute burner in the field, and that might come as a shock to anyone who first sees his 6-foot-5 frame. The Reds farmhand took advantage of those wheels with 47 steals at High-A and Double-A last season.

Arm: Mayer, De La Cruz, Merrill, Luciano, Tovar (60)
You won’t find many wet noodles at the six because of the difficulty of making throws from there, so it tracks that half of our Top 10 earned plus grades for their arms. Mayer, Merrill and Tovar seem most likely to stick at short, but Luciano and De La Cruz could put their cannons to use from third or the outfield should they need to move.

Field: Tovar (70)
The Dominican Republic native has been Major League-ready with the glove for some time, thanks to his great footwork, impressive instincts and ability to chase down balls to both the left and right. He was our shortstop pick on the 2023 All-Defense Team.

Highest ceiling: De La Cruz
In 2022, the Cincinnati star was two homers away from being the Minors’ first 30-40 player since George Springer in 2013, and he has the loud tools to back up the numbers. He’s arguably the best power-speed prospect in the Minors, and the only thing that gives us pause is his 30.8 percent K rate from last year. If he brings that down a touch — or even manages to keep making enough hard contact to keep his batting average respectable — he’s a potential superstar.

Highest floor: Volpe
Early concerns about Volpe’s ability to hit upper-level pitching were eased when he took off in June at Double-A last year, and while there are some arm concerns, he’s a steady defensive presence at short too. He isn’t far from taking a middle-infield spot in the Bronx, and barring any significant changes to his profile, he seems a safe bet to hold down that place for years to come.

Rookie of the Year candidate: Volpe
There are only three 2023 ETAs on this list in Volpe, De La Cruz and Tovar. Oswald Peraza — another stellar prospect who will feature in our Top 100 overall list — could complicate matters with the Yankees for Volpe, but the latter still has a higher ceiling because of his superior skills with the bat. If he joins the Bombers by the end of May, Volpe should have a ROY shot.

Highest riser: Merrill
The Maryland native was considered a solid prospect when he went 27th overall to San Diego in 2021. The internal and external reports on him now, however, are downright stellar, starting with the praise for his all-fields hitting approach. Wrist and hamstring injuries held the 19-year-old back from a full regular season, but he was still one of the most talked-about prospects in the Arizona Fall League after an aggressive assignment in the desert. There’s a lot of helium attached to his spot at No. 6.

Humblest beginning: De La Cruz
Cincinnati wasn’t expected to make a splash in the 2018-19 international market considering it couldn’t sign any players for more than $300,000 as part of previous overage penalties. So much for that. The club brought in De La Cruz for $65,000, and to his credit, the switch-hitter has developed into a potential franchise cornerstone.

Most to prove: Marte
Marte is relatively new to the Reds’ system, having joined last summer in the Luis Castillo blockbuster, and he came with promising pull-side power and more than a few questions. For starters, he may not be a shortstop much longer, and the Reds had him at third base exclusively in the Arizona Fall League. Even if he gets shortstop looks this spring, he’ll be competing with De La Cruz, Edwin Arroyo and Matt McLain on the depth chart for the position. It’ll be on the 21-year-old to prove he’s more than just a powerful corner infield type.

Keep an eye on: Joey Ortiz, Orioles
As if the Orioles needed another promising young infielder. Ortiz, a fourth-round pick in 2019, is a slick-fielding shortstop with plenty of arm for the position. He faced questions with the bat entering last season but handled a jump to Triple-A quite well with a .346/.400/.567 line and serviceable 14.8 percent K rate in 26 games. His near-readiness may make it easier for Baltimore to keep Gunnar Henderson at third base and give the O’s their long-term left side of the infield.

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Sports

Top second-base prospects 2023

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MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2023 Top 100 Prospects list at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 26, with a one-hour show on MLB Network and MLB.com. Leading up to the release of the Top 100, we’ll examine baseball’s top 10 prospects at each position.

Second base is one of the least toolsy positions. But as clubs put an increased premium on hitting ability, second basemen are working their way into the Draft’s first round more than ever.

In the last five Drafts, six second basemen have gone in the first round: Michael Busch (2019); Nick Gonzales, Justin Foscue and Nick Yorke (2020); and Termarr Johnson and Jace Jung (2022). That total matches the number of keystone first-rounders from the first 35 Drafts. The 2020 and 2022 Drafts doubled the number of times that multiple second basemen have gone in the same first round.

Not surprisingly, our Top 10 Second Base Prospects list includes all six of those first-rounders — the most we’ve ever featured.

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Termarr Johnson, Pirates (2025)
2. Michael Busch, Dodgers (2023)
3. Jace Jung, Tigers (2025)
4. Justin Foscue, Rangers (2023)
5. Zack Gelof, Athletics (2023)
6. Connor Norby, Orioles (2023)
7. Edouard Julien, Twins (2023)
8. Nick Gonzales, Pirates (2023)
9. Nick Yorke, Red Sox (2024)
10. Wenceel Perez, Tigers (2023)
Complete list »

Top 10 prospects by position:
RHP | LHP | C | 1B | 2B
1/23: 3B
1/24: SS
1/25: OF
1/26: Top 100

Hit: Johnson (70)
Scouts considered Johnson the best high school hitter in years, with one saying he combined Wade Boggs’ plate discipline with Vladimir Guerrero Sr.’s bat-to-ball skills. The fourth overall pick in the 2022 Draft, he has a compact left-handed stroke, outstanding hand-eye coordination and advanced swing decisions.

Power: Johnson, Busch (60)
Johnson isn’t particularly physical at a listed 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds, but his bat speed, strength and ability to barrel balls project to produce plus power. Busch has more raw pop and ranked third in the Minors in extra-base hits (70) and total bases (285) and sixth in homers (32) last season while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.

Run: Perez (60)
Perez’s plus speed translates more into extra-base hits and advancing on the bases than steals. He ranked fourth in the Minors last year with 10 triples while swiping 18 bags in 23 attempts between High-A and Double-A.

Arm: Perez (55)
While second base isn’t a position associated with arm strength, Perez has a solid arm that allows him to play all over the infield. That could come in handy, because the arrival of 2022 first-rounder Jung could make Perez more of a utilityman for the Tigers in the long run.

Field: Johnson (55)
Though his average arm and quickness dictated a move from shortstop to second base, Johnson has the makings of a solid defender at his new position. His hands and feet work well, and he’s focusing on improving his speed and agility to bolster his range.

Highest ceiling: Johnson
Johnson has the upside to win batting titles while providing 25-30 homers per season and being an asset on defense. That’s the description of a perennial All-Star.

Highest floor: Busch
Busch has lived up to his reputation as one of the best all-around offensive talents in the 2019 college class, batting .274/.365/.516 in his first fully healthy season as a pro in 2022. He should hit for average and power while drawing plenty of walks, and he has worked to transform himself into an adequate defender.

Rookie of the Year candidate: Busch
At least half of our Top 10 should make their big league debuts this season, with Busch having less to prove in the Minors than any of them. That said, he’ll have to find at-bats on a crowded Dodgers roster that also includes talented rookies Miguel Vargas and James Outman.

Highest riser: Julien
Though Julien topped the Minors with 110 walks in his first full pro season in 2021, he didn’t vault into Top 100 Prospects consideration until last season. He batted .300/.441/.490 in Double-A while raking fifth in the Minors in on-base percentage and sixth in walks (98), then hit .400/.563/.686 in the Arizona Fall League and led the developmental circuit in hitting, OBP, OPS (1.249), runs (24) and walks (23).

Humblest beginning: Julien
The only members of our Top 10 who didn’t land seven-figure signing bonuses were Julien and Perez, who were valued as quality prospects but not stellar talents. Julien signed for an over-slot $493,000 as an 18th-round Auburn sophomore-eligible in 2019, while Perez turned pro for $550,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2016.

Most to prove: Yorke
A surprise first-round pick in 2020, Yorke led the Low-A East in hitting (.323) and OPS (.913) in his pro debut the following year but slumped to .232/.303/.365 last season while dealing with injuries and ill-advised adjustments. He did look like his old self in the AFL, where he batted .342/.424/.526.

Keep an eye on: Eguy Rosario, Padres
Signed for $300,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, Rosario broke out at the plate six years later and encored by hitting .288/.368/.508 with 22 homers and 21 steals in Triple-A last season. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds, he has feel to hit, some deceptive strength and solid speed.

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Sports

Top catching prospects 2023

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MLB Pipeline will reveal its 2023 Top 100 Prospects list at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 26, with a one-hour show on MLB Network and MLB.com. Leading up to the release of the Top 100, we’ll examine baseball’s top 10 prospects at each position.

Even with some big graduations, the crop of catching prospects is pretty deep.

The top two from last year’s list, Adley Rutschman and Gabriel Moreno, are no longer prospects. A little further down last year’s Top 10, Joey Bart, Luis Campusano, MJ Melendez and Shea Langeliers have all lost prospect status. But the list highlighted below has regenerated with some exciting new names.

It starts, of course, with one of the best overall prospects in the game, Francisco Álvarez of the Mets, and the list has a nice blend of Draft picks (six) and international signees (four). There’s a combination of first-round picks (four) and later-round finds, high price tag signs on the international market and some real bargains who have jumped on the map since joining the pro ranks.

The Top 10 (ETA)
1. Francisco Álvarez, Mets (2023)
2. Diego Cartaya, Dodgers (2024)
3. Kevin Parada, Mets (2025)
4. Harry Ford, Mariners (2025)
5. Logan O’Hoppe, Angels (2023)
6. Endy Rodriguez, Pirates (2023)
7. Henry Davis, Pirates (2024)
8. Bo Naylor, Guardians (2023)
9. Drew Romo, Rockies (2024)
10. Edgar Quero, Angels (2025)
Complete list »

Top 10 prospects by position:
RHP | LHP | C
Thu: 1B
Fri: 2B
1/23: 3B
1/24: SS
1/25: OF
1/26: Top 100

Hit: Parada (60)
The first catcher taken in the 2022 Draft, No. 11 overall by the Mets, Parada keeps thing simple at the plate with a good feel for the barrel. He hit .361 with a .453 OBP at Georgia Tech in his Draft year and that approach could allow him to hit .300 with plenty of pop as a big leaguer.

Power: Álvarez (70)
There likely isn’t another prospect in baseball with more power than Álvarez, both raw and in games. He hit 24 homers as a teenager in A ball in 2021, then 27 more at age 20 at the upper levels last year. His whip-like swing and plus bat speed will continue to produce plenty of home runs in the big leagues.

Run: Ford (60)
Ford, the Mariners’ first-round pick in 2021, doesn’t just “run well for a catcher.” His plus speed plays on the basepaths — he swiped 23 bases in his first full season — and he’s athletic enough to play second base or center field if there was ever a need.

Arm: Davis (70)
While he continues to work on improving the other parts of his defensive game, there are no questions with Davis’ arm, which might be the strongest of any prospect at any position. It plays well with his quick feet and transfer, as well as his accuracy.

Field: Romo (60)
Romo also has a plus arm to go with his other outstanding defensive attributes. He’s athletic and agile behind the plate with good hands and blocking skills. Rockies pitchers have liked throwing to him as well.

Highest ceiling: Álvarez
An argument could be made to put Cartaya and his overall skillset here, but if Álvarez can be even an average receiver, his offensive upside should make him an All-Star several times over.

Highest floor: O’Hoppe
While none of his individual tools jump off the page, O’Hoppe does everything well and his work ethic points to a future where he plays above his tools as a big league regular backstop for a long time.

Rookie of the Year candidate: Álvarez
Assuming he gets enough at-bats in New York, it’s easy to see Álvarez putting up the kind of numbers to attract plenty of attention from ROY voters.

Highest riser: Quero
The switch-hitter wasn’t even on the Angels’ Top 30 at the end of the 2021 season, but has jumped in the radar with a very strong full-season debut in 2022 that saw him finish with a .965 OPS.

Humblest beginning: Rodriguez
Rodriguez signed for just $10,000 with the Mets back in July 2018 and he’s now knocking on the big league door after a huge 2022 season that saw him reach Triple-A in his second season with the Pirates since coming over in the three-team deal that sent Joe Musgrove to the Padres.

Most to prove: Davis
There’s always a hotter spotlight on former No. 1 overall picks, and Davis did show plenty of glimpses of his offensive potential in his first full season in 2022, but he also only played in 59 games because of wrist issues. A full, healthy season should answer a lot of questions.

Keep an eye on: Yainer Diaz, Astros
He made it up to the big leagues briefly in 2022, but he’s coming off a huge offensive season in the Minors (.306/.356/.542 with 25 homers and 96 RBIs in Double- and Triple-A). That’s nothing new as he’s done nothing but hit in his career, with a .321/.358/.510 line to prove it.

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Business

Stock futures are little changed as traders mull prospects of higher rates

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Stock futures were little changed Tuesday as concern over higher rates lingered among traders.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 60 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%. Nasdaq-100 futures hovered just above the flat line.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Monday that interest rates should rise above 5% and stay there for a “long time.” Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank should continue raising rates, albeit at a slower pace. Treasury yields rose slightly on Tuesday.

Those comments came ahead of a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell slated for 9 a.m. ET.

Investors came into the new year worried that higher Fed rates could tip the economy into a recession. However, many appear to be mounting bets that inflation is starting to ease.

The Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday posted a 0.6% gain, helped by a 6% rally in Tesla. Meanwhile, the Dow erased a 304-point gain and ended down almost 113 points, while the S&P fell 0.1%.

Monday also marked the end of the first five trading days of 2023, during which the S&P 500 gained 1.1%. According to a classic stock market indicator, that kind of early strength could bode well for the rest of the year.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat called it a “strong omen” and said the market is set up for a 20% rally this year.

The Fed wants financial conditions “to stay tight,” Lee said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “Dollar, stocks, bonds – everything’s kind of easing so they’re probably a little worried and they want to be sure inflation is in fact dead. But one of the changes especially since October is that inflation has been under shooting.”

Depending on how CPI data fares Thursday, the bond market could push the Fed to make February the last rate hike before cuts, Lee added.

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Top unranked prospects added to 40-man rosters 2022

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Tuesday was a busy day for all 30 teams in terms of roster maintenance.

With a deadline at 6 p.m. ET to make decisions on who to add to 40-man rosters, the transaction wire was firing away and a large amount of prospects were added to protect them from being taken in December’s Rule 5 Draft.

Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn’t stay on the big league active roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2018 had to be protected. A college player taken in the 2019 Draft was in the same position. There were 15 players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 who needed to be protected, led by No. 4 overall Grayson Rodriguez of the Orioles, and not surprisingly, all 15 were added to rosters. A total of 76 prospects on Top 30 lists also earned roster spots.

But there were also a good number of unranked prospects who were protected on Tuesday, and they’re definitely worth keeping an eye on. Last year’s list of intriguing unranked prospects included the Guardians’ Steven Kwan, who finished third in this year’s American League Rookie of the Year voting, and Orioles reliever Félix Bautista, who ended up being Baltimore’s closer.

Here are 10 players who were unranked at the time of being protected this year who hope they can follow that path in 2023:

Jake Alu, INF, Nationals: A 24th-round pick in 2019 out of Boston College, Alu has shown a knack for making contact from the left side of the plate. He hit .323/.372/.553 in Triple-A last year and showed off a bit more pop overall with 40 doubles and 20 homers combined between Double-A and Triple-A while not striking out much. He played mostly third base and saw time at second and left field, but it’s his bat that should get him to the big leagues at age 26 next season.

Isaiah Campbell, RHP, Mariners: Campbell was added to the Mariners’ Top 30 on Wednesday when the Teoscar Hernández trade sent Adam Macko to the Blue Jays. The 2019 second-rounder out of Arkansas has raised his profile with a full-time move to the bullpen after having trouble staying healthy in 2021 and now features a fastball that sits at 96 mph and a nasty sweeping slider.

Jonny DeLuca, OF, Dodgers: The Dodgers took DeLuca in Round 25 of the 2019 Draft and have watched him make some very impressive strides in turning his athleticism into performance. He had been a track standout in high school before focusing on baseball at Oregon and is still an explosive athlete with some loud tools. He has an intriguing power-speed combination, and his improvements in terms of plate discipline have helped him use those tools, as he finished 2022 with 25 homers and 17 steals.

Brent Headrick, LHP, Twins: A 2019 ninth-rounder out of Illinois State, Headrick reached Double-A for the first time and really came on as the 2022 season wore on. He’s a 6-foot-6 lefty whose stuff ticked upwards this past season, with a fastball that went from around 89 mph in 2021 to averaging just shy of 92 mph this past year to go along with a harder slider that featured more depth. There could be more to come here and he has the chance to start, though that stuff could be nasty from the left side in a bullpen and he could have been a Rule 5 hot commodity as a result.

Matt Krook, LHP, Yankees: Krook was a supplemental first-round pick out of high school way back in 2013, didn’t sign, went to Oregon and was a fourth-rounder of the Giants in 2016. Traded to the Rays in the Dec. 2017 Evan Longoria deal, he was really held back by injuries, and the Yankees nabbed him in the Minor League phase of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. He’s now 28 and on a roster for the first time as a lefty who gets a ton of groundball outs (1.80 GO/AO last year) and misses bats with his slider and changeup.

Roddery Munoz, RHP, Braves: Signed for just $30,000 in June 2018, Munoz has worked mostly as a starter in the Braves’ system, though he missed a chunk of the 2021 season with injury. He struck out 10.7 per nine in 2022 and reached Double-A while topping 100 IP for the first time. He could end up in a bullpen, and with a 95-98 mph fastball and a slider that flashes plus, he’d be the kind of power arm to whom teams would give a long Rule 5 look.

Riley Pint, RHP, Rockies: This could be a terrific comeback story. Pint was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, but a combination of injuries and an inability to throw strikes led to him leaving the game completely. But he came back in 2022 and reached Triple-A as a reliever. Command is still an issue, but he struck out 11.4 per nine this past season with a fastball that easily touches the upper-90s and a nasty slider to complement it.

Sean Reynolds, RHP, Marlins: Reynolds was a fourth-round pick out of high school in 2016… as an outfielder/first baseman. He had tremendous raw power but couldn’t make enough contact to get to it, so he moved to the mound in 2021. He pitched his way to Double-A this past year, striking out 11.4 per nine and holding hitters to a .201 batting average. The 6-foot-8 right-hander threw his fastball in the 97-100 mph range in 2022.

Jon Singleton, 1B, Brewers: True, he’s not a prospect anymore, but this is quite a redemption story in the making. Singleton was once a top-level prospect, one who seemed like the future at first base for the Astros. But he hasn’t been in the big leagues since 2015, was out of baseball from 2018 through 2020 and played in Mexico in 2021 before leading the Brewers’ system with 24 homers and all of the Minor Leagues with 117 walks in 2022. He signed a Minor League deal with the Brewers last month, leaving him exposed for Rule 5 consideration, so the Brewers added the 31-year-old, marking the first time he’s been on a 40-man since Nov. 2016.

Colby White, RHP, Rays: The Mississippi State product was the Rays’ sixth-round pick in 2019. He’s been on their Top 30 in the past and after a 2021 season that saw him pitch his way to Triple-A, he looked like he might impact the big league ‘pen in 2022 until he needed Tommy John surgery in April. Assuming a return to health in 2023, he should be able to bring his 95-97 mph fastball, which he locates well up in the zone, along with a very effective slider, to Tampa.

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Sports

Texas Spent Nearly $280K on Arch Manning, More Prospects’ Recruiting Weekend | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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Texas may not be able to pay Arch Manning to play for the Longhorns, but the university reportedly opened up the vault for the top recruit to make him feel like the king of Austin.

Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic reported Texas spent nearly $280,000 during Manning’s two-day official visit in June. The visit included eight other prospects, but there was no question the school was rolling out a Benjamin Franklin-printed carpet for Manning.

The lavish weekend included a stay at a luxury hotel, two dinners averaging over $30,000 and a pair of open-bar parent socials that totaled five figures.

While it’s standard for recruits to visit the campus and receive elevator pitches from coaches, this was a first-class wine-and-dine experience designed to impress parents just as much as the players.

The weekend was, from a recruiting standpoint, an unmitigated success. Manning announced his commitment to Texas days after the visit, and he’ll be joined by 3-star high school teammate Will Randle, who was also on the trip.

The exorbitant tab for the weekend may open eyes across the country, but it’s merely the cost of doing high-level business in college football.

Manning will arrive at Texas as one of the most touted prospects in program history, equipped with every tool necessary to be a star and the pedigree of his last name as the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning. We’ll have to wait until next year to see whether he lives up to the massive investment.

Recruit ratings via 247Sports.



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Sports

Juan Soto traded to San Diego Padres; Nationals get haul of prospects

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The Washington Nationals did what once seemed unthinkable Tuesday: They traded Juan Soto.

Why? That will be debated for weeks and months — let alone years and decades in a city that saw Soto, still only 23, grow into a superstar outfielder and one of the best hitters on the planet. But after Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract offer in July, the front office struck an eight-player deal with the San Diego Padres that shook Major League Baseball, altered the course of the franchise and further saddened fans who have lost one star after another since the Nationals won the World Series in 2019.

Calling it the biggest deal of this year’s trade deadline falls short. With Soto under team control through the 2024 season, the Padres could have him for three playoff races, giving them a lineup built around Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and first baseman Josh Bell, whom the Nationals packaged with Soto in the move.

D.C., meanwhile, is left to watch another homegrown cornerstone leave. Bryce Harper, who once won an MVP award with the Nationals, left for Philadelphia after the 2018 season. Anthony Rendon, one of the World Series heroes, joined the Los Angeles Angels shortly after that title run. And last summer, the team sent Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting a rebuild that General Manager Mike Rizzo believes took a step forward Tuesday.

“It accelerates the process,” said Rizzo, who seemed on the verge of tears at various points of a 20-minute news conference. “You lose a generational talent like that, but you put in five key elements of your future championship roster.”

Yes, trading Soto and Bell landed a major haul: shortstop C.J. Abrams, left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood, first baseman/designated hitter Luke Voit and right-handed pitcher Jarlin Susana. But there is no replacing Soto or what he has meant to the organization since debuting at 19 in 2018. As the Nationals stumble toward another last-place finish, they were selling a quick “reboot” around Soto, a once-in-a-generation player and one of the few reasons to root for the team this summer.

Boswell: The Nationals dissolved in a brutal blink. Now let’s watch them rise.

Without him, though, the Nationals are banking on the development of unproven yet highly touted players. Such is the reality on their end of the blockbuster deal. Within the organization, all eyes shift to the future amid an ever-dreary present. The Nationals did not make any more trades after Soto and Bell became Padres.

“They’re really all tough,” Manager Dave Martinez said of the goodbyes, his voice catching with emotion. “I build these relationships with these guys. The toughest thing with Juan is he was so young … [I saw] him even when he was just a kid. But they’re all tough.”

In recent days, San Diego was in the mix for Soto along with the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. But by Tuesday morning, the Padres were a clear front-runner with Soto and Bell in play as a package deal. On his own, Soto could demand a handful of prospects and Voit, who has major league experience with the Cardinals, New York Yankees and Padres. But by adding Bell, the Nationals netted Susana, an 18-year-old whose fastball has been clocked in the triple digits.

Could the Nats have avoided trading Juan Soto? Your questions, answered.

While Rizzo negotiated, there were times he doubted a deal coming together. The Nationals’ ask was high. It reflected Soto’s value and two months of Bell, too. But while Bell is putting up career numbers this year, Soto’s departure is the gut punch for the Nationals — their coaches and players — and their fans.

Soto had a four-year run with the team after signing as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. He packed that tenure with a World Series ring, a National League batting title, two Silver Slugger awards, two top-five finishes in MVP voting and a pair of all-star appearances. In July, he won the Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium, adding to a résumé that should belong to a midcareer star, not someone who can’t rent a car without underage fees.

At such a young age, Soto has followed the statistical tracks of all-time players such as Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Trout. He pairs power and contact ability with otherworldly plate discipline. Baseball writers once spent an offseason comparing him with Ted Williams, one of the best hitters ever. That’s why Soto demanded a large return and the final contract offer wasn’t enough.

“We did feel that we were not going to be able to extend him and we felt that, at this time, with two-and-a-half years remaining, three playoff runs available to Juan Soto, he would never be more at value than he is today,” Rizzo said. “And that’s what we predicated it on. There was no edict to trade him or not to trade him [from ownership, as the Lerner family explores a sale of the team]. It was business as usual.”

Svrluga: The Juan Soto deal is heartbreaking. Now the hope can begin.

So Soto’s steady dominance is what ultimately complicated his future in Washington. For a long while, Soto has been set on reaching free agency after the 2024 season, the only way to see how the open market values him. Still, the Nationals made efforts to sign him to a long-term deal — a goal that became even more pressing after the club began its rebuild in July 2021, shipping out eight veterans for 12 unproven players.

Feinstein: You don’t trade a player like Juan Soto — ever

First there was a 13-year, $350 million contract offer to Soto in November. After that, Washington upped the figures in May, then even more with 15 years and $440 million a month ago. But Soto and Scott Boras, his agent, felt he is worth more than an average annual value of $29.3 million. On July 16, that offer — the largest in MLB history by total value — was publicized along with the Nationals’ intentions to listen to trade offers for Soto before the deadline.

But deal Soto? Deal the player with some of the biggest hits in club history in 2019 — the go-ahead single off Josh Hader in the NL wild-card game; the score-knotting homer off Clayton Kershaw in Game 5 of the NL Division Series; towering shots against Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander in the World Series — while his best years could be in front of him, not behind?

A look at the players the Nationals are getting in the Juan Soto trade

On July 1, in an interview with 106.7 the Fan, Rizzo was asked about the possibility of trading Soto. He was defiant, saying the Nationals would not shop their best player, whose left-handed swing had become synonymous with baseball in Washington. Then everything changed with 15 years and $440 million fell flat. Money often has that effect.

“When someone like Soto gets moved, it does kind of remind you that if he can get moved, anybody can get moved,” said reliever Sean Doolittle, a relic in that he was on the 2019 title team and still plays for Washington following stints elsewhere. “It sounds surreal saying it out loud.”

Soto’s journey didn’t start when he debuted at Nationals Park. It didn’t start at the club’s academy in the Dominican Republic, where he would spend extra hours on Rosetta Stone to perfect his English. And it didn’t start when the team first scouted him as a left-handed pitcher who could hit a bit.

All of this began in a living room in Santo Domingo, Soto’s dad tossing him bottle caps that the small boy smacked against the walls. He wanted to be Manny Ramirez or Robinson Canó. In long days at the playground, he mimicked Canó’s uppercut swing, the other kids calling him “Little Robbie.” Baseball is tradition in their shared country. So, too, is dreaming of major league stardom.

Those dreams have taken Soto to Washington; to around America in a Nationals uniform; to the highs of the World Series and the depths of a rebuild. Next, they will take him to San Diego, where a new fan base will hang on every one of his at-bats, on him staring down the opposing pitcher, on the “Soto shuffle” that pushes dirt around the box. Soto has always been a blink-and-you-might-miss-it sort of player.

Trading him, then, means D.C. will miss a lot.

Barry Svrluga contributed to this report.

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Sports

Cincinnati Reds acquire four prospects in trade deadline deals

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It was a busy week for the Cincinnati Reds on the trade front, and on Tuesday afternoon they made two more deals that brought in prospects (as well as one “trade” of cash for veteran big league catcher who is currently in the minors and not on the 40-man roster that brings them Austin Romine).

The big trade was the one that sent Tyler Mahle to the Minnesota Twins for three prospects. Cincinnati acquired infielders Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, as well as left-handed pitcher Steven Hajjar in the deal. About 45 minutes later the Reds sent Brandon Drury to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Victor Acosta.

Spencer Steer Scouting Report

Shortstop

Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 185 lbs.

Born: December 7, 1997

Minnesota selected Spencer Steer in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft out of Oregon. After two solid years in 2019 and 2021, Steer has broken out in 2022, showing more power and cutting down on his strikeout rate significantly. He began the season in Double-A and hit .307/.385/.591 in 35 games before being promoted to Triple-A. Things slowed down a bit in St. Paul as he’s hit .242/.345/.485 in 48 games. Much of the decline seems to be connected to the fact that his BABIP went from a reasonable .318 in Double-A to a low .248 in Triple-A. There may be a reason it’s low, but without access to the kind of information the teams have, it’s tough to know if it’s a bit more bad luck or a bit more “not making good contact often enough”, though the fact that he’s still got plenty of extra-base hits may negate that latter one a bit.

Where Spencer Steer winds up on the defensive spectrum is a bit up in the air. He’s been playing shortstop, and he can play there if you need him to, but he’s a better fit at second or third base. His bat will play just fine at either position. But especially when considering all of the other shortstops in the Reds organization, it seems that he’s going to wind up playing somewhere that’s not shortstop in the near future.

Despite his current average in Triple-A being .242, he projects to hit for a good average in the future and he’s also projected to hit for above-average power. It’s not hard to envision a .265 hitter with 20+ home runs down the line in the big leagues.

Baseball America had Steer rated as the Twins #4 prospect in the system and 97th overall in all of minor league baseball in their mid-season update. You can see his career stats here.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand Scouting Report

Third Baseman

Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 224 lbs.

Born: December 1, 1999

After hitting 33 home runs in 81 games for Yavapai Junior College and then 15 more in 56 games for Oklahoma State as a junior in 2021, the Twins selected Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the 4th round of last year’s draft. He went out at hit .391/.424/.598 in 22 games for Low-A Fort Myers last season that included a monster 456-foot home run. This year he began the season in Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League and hit .296/.370/.599 with 23 doubles, 3 triples, and 20 home runs in 74 games. He was promoted to Double-A Wichita a few weeks ago and has continued to crush the ball, hitting .333/.400/.685 with 5 more home runs, 2 more doubles, and a triple in 13 games. His first home run in Double-A went 484 feet, just in case you were wanting another fun stat.

Offensively he’s shown some improvement on his approach versus what it was in college, and he’s been able to maintain his plus power while doing so. The power is certainly the calling card on his scouting report, earning plus-plus raw power grades at times. There’s a chance he hits for a solid average down the line, too, though that’s less certain than how his power will play. Defensively he’s been at third base for a majority of his time as a professional and to say it’s gone poorly would be an understatement. In his 67 starts over the last two seasons he’s posted an .876 fielding percentage at the position. He’s had some experience at first base, playing in 19 games there since being drafted, and it might be time to just make that move a permanent one.

He was rated by Baseball America as the Twins #14 prospect in the mid-season update. You can see his career stats here.

Victor Acosta Scouting Report

Shortstop

Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 170 lbs.

Born: June 10, 2004

Victor Acosta was one of the top prospects in the 2021 international signing class and got a $1,800,000 bonus from the Padres in January of 2021. He had a good debut in the Dominican Summer League last year as a 17-year-old, hitting .285/.431/.484 with 26 steals, 12 doubles, 5 triples, 5 home runs, 38 walks, and 45 strikeouts in 240 plate appearances. This season he moved up to the Arizona Complex League and things have slowed down a little bit. The switch hitter has played in 32 games and has 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, and just 5 steals in 12 attempts while hitting .243/.346/.360 in 131 plate appearances.

As you would expect from a guy who got $1.8M signing bonus less than 18 months ago, Victor Acosta has plenty of tools and projection in his game. While there may not be a ton of physical projection left, there’s a lot of development in the future from the 18-year-old. He’s got plus speed, a plus arm, above-average power potential – particularly from the left side, and his hit tool could be above-average down the line, too.

Victor Acosta is very farm from reaching the big leagues. He’s basically just now getting his career started and he’s still just 18-years-old. He’s the same age as kids that just graduated high school this year, so it’s likely going to require plenty of patience. His age and how far away he is from the big leagues means there’s a ton of risk, but he’s also the sort of lottery ticket that has a big pay off if you get the right numbers.

He was rated by Baseball America as the Padres #11 prospect in their mid-season update. You can see his career stats here.

Steven Hajjar Scouting Report

Left-Handed Pitcher

Height: 6′ 5″ | Weight: 215 lbs.

Born: August 7, 2000

The Twins 2nd round pick in 2021, Steven Hajjar was the only pitcher acquired by the Reds on Tuesday. The left-handed start didn’t pitch after the draft last season. He began this year in Low-A with Fort Myers in the Florida State League (the same league that the Daytona Tortugas play in). He made nine starts before hitting the injured list and missing the next six weeks before returning on July 17th. Minnesota has limited his pitch counts all year and he’s yet to throw more than 82 pitches in a game, and he’s only topped 75 pitches three times in his 13 games. He’s been very good when on the mound, posting a 2.47 ERA for Fort Myers with 71 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. Hajjar has walked 22 batters, though, which is a bit higher than you’d like to see from a college pitcher in Low-A.

Fastball: It’s mostly worked in the 90-93 range this season, averaging 91.7 MPH and has topped out at 95.2. There’s a lot of movement with the pitch and combined with some deception it allows the pitch to play up beyond the velocity.

Slider: The pitch works in the low-to-mid 80’s and is a solid offering.

Change Up: His best pitch when it comes to the raw scouting grades, it works in the low-80’s and flashes itself as above-average to plus.

Curveball: A fringy offering that he doesn’t throw as often as his other secondary pitches, the curveball works in the mid-to-upper 70’s.

He’s got enough stuff that he could carve out a career as a starting pitcher if he gets the most out of his projection. If he’s going to remain a starter in the long run he will need to cut down on the walks, and he may need to be a little more consistent with his fastball velocity as at times it’ll dip into the 88-91 MPH range and that’s just real tough to get away with at the big league level today.

Baseball America rated him as the Twins 11th best prospect in their mid-season update. You can see his career stats here.

Instant Reaction

Unlike the deal that involved Luis Castillo that I said that I hated but felt the team got a good return for, these two deals aren’t like that. Tyler Mahle is a good, but not elite starting pitcher. He may have more success outside of Great American Ball Park where he just seemed to struggle all too often, and maybe he can turn into a much stronger version of himself in a park that’s a little less home run friendly. The team still could have tried to re-sign him and keep him around, and perhaps they did and things just weren’t going to work out. With that said, it feels like the Reds got back a good set of prospects for Mahle from the Twins.

With Brandon Drury, he was a free agent to be. The Reds were probably not going to try and re-sign him, and Nick Krall even said the other day that they haven’t had those discussions. A late spring signing on a league minimum deal turned into one of the top international prospects from just one year ago? It’s tough to say that didn’t work out well for Cincinnati.



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Sports

Juan Soto trade: Padres agree to deal for superstar ahead of deadline, Nationals get five prospects in return

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The Washington Nationals are in agreement to trade outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, per CBS Sports HQ’s Jim Bowden. Soto, the biggest name on the market ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, had been made available in July after he declined a 15-year, $440 million extension offer. The Padres will also acquire Nationals first baseman Josh Bell in the deal, and the Nationals will receive a package headlined by lefty Mackenzie Gore, outfielder Robert Hassell III and shortstop C.J. Abrams. 

San Diego first baseman Eric Hosmer was also originally slated to head to D.C., though he has a no-trade clause and did not agree to be moved to Washington. With Hosmer out of the equation, here’s how the deal looks (though it could change again before becoming official):

Padres acquire

Nationals acquire

  • LHP Mackenzie Gore
  • OF Robert Hassell III
  • SS C.J. Abrams
  • OF James Wood
  • RHP Jarlin Susana

The Cardinals and Dodgers were viewed as the other two finalists for Soto, but were apparently out-bid by San Diego.

Soto, 23, will have two additional years of team control remaining after this season. Since making his big-league debut during the 2018 season, he’s emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball. Entering Tuesday, he’d hit .291/.427/.538 (160 OPS+) with 119 home runs for his career. Soto, a two-time All-Star, was part of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series-winning club.

Why are the Nationals trading Juan Soto?

For as gaudy of a sum as $440 million appears, it’s worth noting that the Nationals’ extension offer would’ve resulted in an average annual value of $29.3 million. According to Cot’s Contracts, that would check in as the 20th-highest mark in the majors, a ranking unbefitting of a player of his youth and track record. Indeed, Soto’s AAV would not have been the highest on the Nationals active roster, with right-handed Stephen Strasburg averaging a cool $35 million per season. 

Soto is the latest star to leave the Nationals, and he joins an impressive list that includes Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and Max Scherzer — the latter two of whom were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last year’s deadline.

Soto’s departure comes at a time of great turnover for the Nationals organization. The franchise is expected to complete a sale to new ownership this offseason, marking the end of an era. The Lerner family had previously owned the team since 2006, when real estate developer Ted Lerner purchased the club from Major League Baseball for $450 million. Ted later transferred ownership to his son Mark in 2018.

The rebuilding Nats are also moving on from Bell, an impending free agent. Bell appeared to be one of the other top hitters available on the market. In 103 games with the Nationals this season, he’d hit .301/.384/.493 (152 OPS+) with 14 home runs and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Bell represents a clear upgrade over Hosmer for the Padres.

Who is San Diego giving up?

The Nationals’ return is a combination of big-league talent and prospects. Abrams, 21, is a speedy middle infielder who has hit .232/.285/.320 (77 OPS+) with 23 more strikeouts than walks and just seven extra-base hits in 139 big-league plate appearances. His lackluster performance should be viewed with the additional context that he missed most of last season, and has appeared in just 152 professional games overall. To wit, Abrams already has played in more big-league games than he has at either the Double- or Triple-A level. He was ranked as the 10th best prospect by CBS Sports entering the spring based on the belief that he’ll be fine long-term.

Gore, 23, is currently on the injured list with elbow trouble. He’d overcome an apparent case of the yips to post a 4.50 ERA (84 ERA+) and a 1.95 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 70 innings this season, with most of those coming as a starter. Gore used to be considered one of the better pitching prospects in the game, but his aforementioned struggles have diminished his stock. His elbow issue doesn’t help matters, either.

Hassell, 20, was the eighth pick in the 2020 draft. He’s batted .299/.379/.467 in 75 games at the High-A level this season. He’s regarded as having a good hit tool, but scouts have long wanted to see him tap more into his raw power. It’s also unclear if he’ll be able to remain in center field for the long haul.

Wood, 19, was San Diego’s second-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s listed at 6-foot-7 and he has massive raw power and better speed than you’d expect from someone of this size. He slipped in the draft because of the concerns evaluators had about his swing-and-miss tendencies. Encouragingly, in 50 games this season, he’s punched out in fewer than 20 percent of his trips to the plate.

Susana, 18, is a large right-hander who has spent the season in the complex league. He’s appeared eight times, amassing a 2.45 ERA and a 4.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has a big fastball and a promising breaking ball.

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Reds acquire Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, two other prospects in trade

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Late on Friday night the Cincinnati Reds officially traded starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners. The right-handed starter was perhaps the best player on the trade market and the return from Seattle was sizable. The Reds acquired shortstops Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo, as well as right-handed pitchers Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore.

The two shortstops acquired were the Mariners top two prospects. In Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 prospect list that was updated this past week, Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo were both inside of the top 50. Marte ranked 47th and Arroyo was directly behind him and ranked 48th. The two pitchers were both rated as Top 30 prospects in the Mariners organization, with Levi Stoudt coming in at #10 in the midseason update and Andrew Moore at #26 on the list.

Noelvi Marte Scouting Report

Shortstop

Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 187 lbs.

Born: October 16, 2001

A big bonus signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Noelvi Marte has worked his way up to High-A over the past few seasons. The 20-year-old has hit well in Everett, posting a .275/.363/.462 line this season with 19 doubles, 15 home runs, and 13 stolen bases in 85 games. He’s walked 42 times and has 84 strikeouts in 394 plate appearances.

He has an above-average hit tool and plus to plus-plus raw power, a rarity coming from a potential future shortstop. There are some concerns that he may need to move to third base down the line as his body matures as he’s already added plenty of size over the years and he’s still just 20. That won’t be too much of a concern, though, as his arm will easily play at third base if he has to slide over and his bat has more than enough potential to stand out there if he is able to continue his development.

He’s been on fire over the last five weeks in Everett. Since June 22nd he’s hit .365/.440/.669 with 15 walks and 20 strikeouts in 134 plate appearances. You can see his career stats here.

Edwin Arroyo Scouting Report

Shortstop

Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 175 lbs.

Born: August 25, 2003

Last year’s 2nd round pick for the Mariners, Edwin Arroyo has crushed the ball this season for Low-A Modesto while being just 18-years-old. He’s hit .315/.384/.513 with 18 doubles, 7 triples, 13 home runs, stolen 21 bases, walked 34 times, and he’s struck out 89 times in 410 plate appearances. The switch hitter has been better from the left side this season, hitting .329/.396/.520, but has hit well from the right side of the plate, too, posting a .276/.351/.494 line in 97 plate appearances.

Unlike Marte, there seems to be no concerns about Arroyo outgrowing the position. He’s considered a plus defender at shortstop with a plus arm. He shows above-average raw power and an above-average hit tool. Arroyo has also been quite successful on the basepaths where he’s used his above-average speed well. You can see his career stats here.

Levi Stoudt Scouting Report

Right-Handed Pitcher

Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 195 lbs.

Born: December 4, 1997

A 3rd round pick in 2019, Levi Stoudt didn’t pitch in a professional game that counted until 2021. He underwent Tommy John surgery after the draft and with the 2020 season being cancelled there were no games there for him when he was ready to return to the mound until the 2021 season began. He’s battled to find some consistency this season, and after a solid start to the year in the first two months, he’s posted an ERA of 6.98 since the beginning of June, bringing his ERA on the season up to 5.28 in his 87.0 innings. He’s kept the walks low, handing out just 22 free passes to go along with his 82 strikeouts.

Fastball: The pitch works in the mid 90’s and has touched the upper 90’s routinely this season.

Splitter: Arguably his best offering, it’s an above-average pitch in the low-to-mid 80’s that good movement.

Slider: An average offering in the mid 80’s most of the time, it will flash above-average every so often.

Curveball: A fringy offering that works in the mid 70’s.

There’s good control from Stoudt, but the command isn’t always there and when he’s missed this year the hitters haven’t let him get away with it. There’s some upside here with the potential for three above-average pitches with good control and the fallback option could be a high leverage reliever. You can see his career stats here.

Andrew Moore Scouting Report

Right-Handed Pitcher

Height: 6′ 5″ | Weight: 205 lbs

Born: August 11, 1999

Not to be confused with the Andrew Moore who pitched in the big leagues for Seattle a few seasons ago, this Moore was selected last season in the 14th round out of Chipola Junior College (the same school that Cam Collier attended this season). In 2021 he struggled with his control once turning pro, walking 18 batters with 16 strikeouts in 19.1 innings – mostly in Low-A Modesto. This season he returned there, and while he’s still walking a few too many hitters, he’s been dominate otherwise. In 32.1 innings he’s posted a 1.95 ERA and allowed 25 hits, walked 17, and he’s struck out 58 of the 133 batters he’s faced.

Fastball: Works in the mid 90’s and has touched 100 MPH.

Slider: An above-average offering that works in the mid-to-upper 80’s.

He’s going to need to continue working to improve his control as he moves up the ladder, but the stuff will play. You can see his career stats here.

Immediate Reaction

I hate this trade but believe that it was a good return. How does that sentence make sense? Well, I’ll do my best to explain it.

Baseball is set up in a way in which you no longer need to try and win baseball games in order to make money. It used to be that way. Teams needed big enough gates to cover all of their expenses because media contracts and sponsorship deals simply weren’t big enough business to make up a big portion of revenue, but those days are long gone. Now teams make a whole lot of money between television contracts on the local and national levels and it means that ticket sales make up a much smaller percentage of their revenues. That means winning and losing means less towards making money. Cincinnati is currently in their second rebuild over the last decade, and the current financial set up makes that palpable. This is why I hate the trade. The Reds traded one of the best starting pitchers they’ve had in the last three decades because it makes more sense for them to try and not win next season.

With that rant out of the way, in the market as it stands in baseball today, it seems like the four prospects that the Reds got in this deal was a quality return and probably more than many would have expected. Getting two top 50 prospects in baseball would have been a deal that I would have considered a return that was a little better than I expected given the market over the past few years. That they got that, as well as two other live arms seems like a good get in the current time of the market.



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