Top Padres prospect revealed to have lied about age
11/03/2024 10:34 AM
The San Diego Padres’ agreement with one of their top prospects, Cesar Altagracia, has been terminated after it was revealed that he had falsified documents and lied about his age, according to Jorge Castillo and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.
“The teenager, who assumed the name Cesar Altagracia, verbally agreed to sign with the Padres for about $4 million, a substantial bonus that signified he was considered one of the top international prospects in his class,” Castillo and Gonzalez reported. “The transaction would have become official in January 2027, once Altagracia became eligible to sign as a 16-year-old international free agent.”
Altagracia was one of the top prospects set to join the Padres’ organization and is originally from the Dominican Republic. He was currently believed to be 14 years old before the MLB later discovered he is currently 19.
Altagracia has participated in multiple international tournaments under his fake age, according to ESPN. He played on the Dominican Republic’s U-12 team at the 2022 Baseball World Cup and also played at the U-15 Pan American Championships earlier this year.
As a result of this debacle, Altagracia could be facing a suspension of up to a year, which has been the precedent in situations like this. It’s unclear when or how that suspension would go into effect as Altagracia no longer has a contract agreement with a team.
This is a slight distraction in what is a huge offseason for the Padres, who have to be disappointed after losing a tightly-contested five game series against the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The Padres don’t have a ton of notable free agents on the roster, but retaining outfielder Jurickson Profar, relief pitcher Tanner Scott and catcher Kyle Higashioka will be top priorities.
Infielder Ha-Seong Kim also declined his player option and is opting to test the waters in free agency this winter, so it remains to be seen whether he will be back with the team after missing the end of the season due to an injury. As the Padres’ front office gets ready to retool the roster, they will now have to deal with the fallout from this odd situation involving Altagracia.
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