MLB Says Prospect Linked to Padres Actually Five Years Older Than Previously Thought

The player reportedly struck a verbal agreement with San Diego under an assumed name.

A Padres hat in 2024. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

A Dominican prospect who has been linked to the San Diego Padres is reportedly not who he seems.

According to a Saturday evening report from Jorge Castillo and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, a prospect who made a recent verbal agreement to sign with the Padres upon his 16th birthday falsified his age. An MLB investigation found that the prospect, who presented himself as 14, is actually 19.

Under the name Cesar Altagracia, the player represented the Dominican Republic in two international events—including the 2022 U-12 Baseball World Cup.

San Diego, per Castillo and Gonzalez, had struck a verbal agreement with the player known as Altagracia to sign him in Jan. 2027. The deal, now null and void, would have paid him a $4 million signing bonus.

This is hardly the first instance of identity falsification in baseball history; astute fans will recall the past cases of pitchers Roberto Hernandez and Juan Carlos Oviedo.

"The signing of amateur players (in the international market) has fueled an entire economy rife with corruption," Castillo and Gonzalez wrote. "The last year has seen an uptick in high-profile players showcasing themselves with falsified birth certificates to present themselves as much as five years younger, sources said."

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