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One of baseball’s top international prospects has been reportedly lying about his age.
On Saturday night, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo dropped a bombshell report claiming that the MLB learned that a top Dominican prospect named Cesar Altagracia was 5 years older than previously thought.
According to Castillo, Altagracia claimed he was 14-years-old and ended up losing a $4 million prospect deal with the Padres after the MLB discovered he was 19.
Via ESPN
A Major League Baseball investigation recently found a top teenage prospect in the Dominican Republic who had verbally agreed to sign with the San Diego Padres falsified his paperwork and is 5 years older than previously believed, resulting in the agreement being withdrawn, sources told ESPN.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. The transaction would have become official in January 2027, once Altagracia became eligible to sign as a 16-year-old international free agent.
But MLB discovered he is 19 years old, not 14, as his documents stated.
Castillo goes on to report that Altagracia played in the 12-under league while he was 17.
The teenager represented the Dominican Republic at the 2022 U-12 Baseball World Cup and at the U-15 Pan American Championships this summer under the false identity, sources said.