Dodgers' Diego Cartaya: Healthy for 2022 season
Cartaya has resumed taking live batting practice and participating in drills at the Dodgers' minor-league spring training after missing the final two and a half months of the 2021 season due to back issues, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
The back injury coupled with the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic has thus far limited Cartaya to 80 minor-league games since he signed with the Dodgers for $2.5 million in July 2018 as an 18-year-old out of Venezuela. Despite the relative lack of experience, the now-20-year-old is regarded as the organization's top catching prospect following last season's trade that sent Keibert Ruiz to the Nationals. Cartaya demonstrated an advanced two-way skill set during his injury-shortened stint at at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2021, posting a monstrous 1.023 OPS while showing strong receiving skills and a good arm behind the plate. He'll likely return to Low-A to begin the 2022 campaign, but if can show more durability and cut down on his strikeout rate, a promotion to High-A Great Lakes could come quickly.
