The Twins have sent catcher Diego Cartaya outright to Triple-A Saint Paul, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. There was no previous indication that he had been removed from the roster but it appears the club quietly put him on waivers recently. Their 40-man roster count drops to 39.
The Twins may have some specific plan for the roster spot they just opened but it’s also possible they just figured now was a good time to get Cartaya through waivers unclaimed. Once a top prospect, his stock was already at a low point to start this year, thanks to some subpar numbers at the plate in 2023 and 2024. He’s out to a horrendous start here in 2025, with a .080/.207/.200 line through seven Triple-A contests. He has struck out in 18 of his 29 plate appearances, an awful rate of 62.1%.
As of a few years ago, Cartaya was in the Dodgers’ system and one of the top prospects in the league. Baseball America had him as high as #18 overall going into the 2023 season. At that point, he had a combined .269/.380/.502 batting line and 136 wRC+ in his minor league career. He battled a number of injuries in that time, particularly in his back, but the results were clearly there when he was on the field.
But it’s been a downhill slide since then. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he hit .205/.300/.371 in the minors for an 81 wRC+. The Dodgers, who had added him to their 40-man in November of 2022, designated him for assignment in January of this year when they signed Hyeseong Kim. He was flipped to the Twins for minor league right-hander Jose Vasquez.
As of a few months ago, his stock was down enough that he lost his roster spot with the Dodgers, but there was evidently still enough league-wide interest that the Twins gave up a minor leaguer to skip the waiver queue. But after his dreadful start this year, it appears the league’s view of him has dropped even further. 29 teams passed on the chance to grab him off waivers and stash him in Triple-A.
For the Twins, they have Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez as their big league catchers. Should an injury situation pop up, Jair Camargo is still on the 40-man and playing at Triple-A. Cartaya will give them some non-roster depth and try to play his way back into a spot. Players need a previous career outright or three years of service time to have the right to reject an outright assignment. Cartaya has no major league service yet and this is his first career outright, so he’ll have to stick with the Saints.
Photo courtesy of Chris Tilley, Imagn Images
He’s been bounced around. He doesn’t need this. Just because lopez is back doesn’t mean he needs to be off the roster
Thanks, Mrs. Cartaya. We understand that you’re upset. It’s not personal.
I’m a guy, and you’re name is roob. Don’t talk to me
So you’re saying that you’re Cartaya’s Dad then?
“I’m a guy”…Of course you are, Mrs. Cartaya. Roob has always been a little gruff and overly blunt, so why don’t we step into my office and talk this out.
St. Paul is very beautiful this time of year and we just upgraded our AAA facilities. It now has indoor plumbing, dial-up wifi and seats over 1000 people.
The twins are actually out of position players both in the infield and the outfield if somebody else goes down, so yes, they need the 40 man roster spot
Mickey gasper. All I have to say
He’s already been called up. There are no other healthy (non catchers) on the 40 man
A-ball ability doesn’t always translate to the bigs. It was pretty apparent early on, that he wasn’t going to pan out.
You are the only one who knew this then, because he was getting Sal Perez comps thrown at him.
Yes…by overly eager scribes who don’t know their @$$ from their elbow. The moment he moved up from single-a, it was all over.
Anybody know what happened to Vasquez? He hasn’t logged any playing time in the minors this year.
I hated him on MLB The Show, for some reason I couldn’t get him out.
That Rays story about the bodies under the Trop is nuts.
Jimmy Hoffa is there too.
I heard he’s under BOFA
The what now?
What do the Twins see in this guy? He’s neither an offensive nor defensive catcher. Catching runners at a 19% clip is less than pedestrian.
He had offensive potential [i.e., power] and a frame to drool over. The tools never developed with his age & experience. Baseball is hard.
This is a classic case of a team seeing a pedigree guy come available for nearly free and deciding to see if they can work anything out. His 2025 struggles are likely a result of instruction—one step back for two steps forward is a common view of mechanical/approach/process change, but actual experiences vary. Some guys take one step back, five steps forward. Some guys fall down. Cantata appears to be the latter.
AAA maybe over his ability at present, send him to AA or even A.
AAA AA Which one is battery for flashlight and which one for Godzilla toy
They may be sending him a wake up message.
My name is Diego Cartaya. You designated me off Twinkie. Prepare to die!