Cartaya was shipped to Minnesota back in early January by the Dodgers after his stock tanked last year in the upper minors when he struggled to a pedestrian .686 OPS between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 23-year-old is a reclamation project for the Twins after being a consensus top-25 prospect in the game just two years ago.

Cartaya was a consensus top-50 prospect two years ago, but he has struggled in the minor leagues since then and was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week. The 23-year-old hit .221/.323/.363 with 11 homers and 52 RBI over 400 plate appearances between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024, but he figures to start the season in Triple-A with Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez already in Minnesota. It’s still a nice gamble for the Twins.

The Dodgers officially signed Hyeseong Kim to a three-year contract on Friday afternoon, but in doing so they needed to free up a spot on their 40-man roster and Cartaya became the unfortunate roster casualty. The 23-year-old backstop hit just .221/.323/.363 with 11 homers and 52 RBI over 400 plate appearances between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024. He’s talented enough that he may pique another team’s interest on waivers.

Cartaya’s prospect stock cratered last year as he posted a calamitous .656 OPS in 403 plate appearances for Double-A Tulsa. He’s yet to appear in a spring training contest, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes he’ll be ready for the outset of the minor-league season.