Fastball

Los Angeles Dodgers Jettison Former Top Prospect Off Roster to Make Room for Hye-Seong Kim

In order to make room for Hye-seong Kim on the roster, the Dodgers had to cut ties with Diego Cartaya. He is the former No. 1 prospect in the organization.

Brady Farkas

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Diego Cartaya against the Cincinnati Reds during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in 2023.
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Diego Cartaya against the Cincinnati Reds during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in 2023. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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File this one under "a good problem to have."

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially have so many good players that they can't fit them all under one roster. On Friday, it was announced that the team had come to terms with Korean infielder Hye-seong Kim. As a result, they had to boot former top prospect Diego Cartaya off the roster.

Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times:

The Dodgers' signing of Hyeseong Kim is official

To clear a 40-man roster spot, the team DFA'd former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya

Cartaya was ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the organization in 2024 but he was No. 1 in 2022 and 2023.

Still just 23 years old, Cartaya should have massive appeal to teams on the DFA-trade market. He hit just .221 this past 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, also playing 95 games.

He's never played more than 95 games in a season.

Here's what a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile has looked like in the past:

Cartaya has plenty of strength and leverage in his 6-foot-3 frame, as well as a quick right-handed stroke, so he still managed to slam 19 homers in 93 Double-A games (2023). But his swing got way too long as he tried to launch every pitch he saw to his pull side, leading to disastrous results. He repeatedly chased pitches out the zone and was easily fooled by breaking balls and changeups, leading to concerns about his hitting ability if he doesn't overhaul his approach. 

The Dodgers will have five days to trade him or place him on waivers.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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