SF Giants send former top Dodgers catching prospect to San Jose

The SF Giants signed former top Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect Diego Cartaya to a minor league deal at the end of July. He finally got into game action on Monday, as he was assigned to the San Jose Giants, per the team's transaction log.

SF Giants send former top Dodgers catching prospect to San Jose

The Arizona Complex League ended before Cartaya joined the Giants organization, and there had been no status update since he signed. More than likely, he had been playing in exhibition games in Arizona.

The Dodgers originally signed the young backstop out of Venezuela during the 2018 international signing period. He received a $2.5 million signing bonus. Oddly enough, the Giants added Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, and Jairo Pomares during that same signing period. Luciano's $2.6 million signing bonus remains one of the largest expenditures for the Giants in that market.

For years, Cartaya was viewed as one of the best prospects in baseball, ranking as high as No. 14 by MLB Pipeline before the 2023 season. This is a reminder that the development path is often a challenging uphill battle, and many prospects do not reach the expectations that come with being a top prospect.

In six minor league seasons, Cartaya has put up a .230/.335/.424 line with an 11.4 percent walk rate, 28.2 percent strikeout rate, and .194 ISO. He has struggled badly in Triple-A, putting up a .572 OPS in 277 plate appearances across two seasons.

This includes a stint in the Minnesota Twins organization earlier this season, where Cartaya struck out 40 times in 69 plate appearances. The Twins released him near the end of July, but his foray into free agency did not last long, as he was picked up by the Giants less than a week later.

The Giants are giving the right-handed bat a soft landing with an assignment to San Jose. He responded with a home run in four at-bats in a 5-0 win over the Modesto Nuts on Monday night.

This might not be Cartaya's only assignment this season. If the Giants call up Jesús Rodríguez, then it could create an opening in Sacrameno. Rodríguez was one of the four players acquired in the Camilo Doval trade and he occupies a spot on the 40-man roster.

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