SF Giants part ways with former top Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect

Diego Cartaya is now a free agent again. The SF Giants released the former top Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect from their High-A roster, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants part aways with former top Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect

Cartaya was released to make room for another catching prospect in Luke Shliger. Shliger was a sixth-round pick by the club in the 2023 draft out of the University of Maryland. He has a .738 OPS with a 15.4 percent walk rate and 21.1 percent strikeout rate across three minor league seasons.

On the other hand, Caraya had a brief run with the Giants organization. He signed a minor league deal toward the end of the last season and finished the year with the San Jose Giants. That is the same San Jose team that won the California League, and Cartaya provided a lot of offense during the Championship Series against the Inland Empire 66ers.

Presumably, Cartaya's contract was a rare, two-year minor league deal, as he received an invite to spring training this year. Usually, players who earn an invite have an outside shot at making the club, but that was unlikely with Cartaya. He played a position of need during a time when teams can never have enough catchers.

The 24-year-old backstop was assigned to the Eugene Emeralds this year and posted a .500 OPS with 23 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances. The alarming strikeout rate has been a trend for a couple of years now. Before joining the Giants organization, the right-handed bat played for the Minnesota Twins Triple-A club, where he struck out 40 times in 69 plate appearances.

Not that long ago, Cartaya was viewed as one of the top prospects in baseball, ranking high as No. 14 in MLB Pipeline's 2023 preseason ranking. He was widely viewed as one of the top international prospects during the 2018 - 2019 international signing period and joined the Dodgers on a $2.5 million signing bonus.

During that same signing cycle, the Giants signed Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, and Jairo Pomares. Luciano, along with Cartaya, was viewed as one of the top players in the class. The Giants had hoped that this class would help turn around the organization, but none of them are still with the club. In fact, Victor Bericoto of the Sacramento River Cats is one of the few players who remain with the organization.

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