Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
Antuna cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Antuna spent most of 2022 at High-A Wilmington but received a late promotion to Double-A Harrisburg, where he hit .143 in 26 games. The Nationals have opted to remove the 23-year-old from their 40-man roster ahead of next week's Rule 5 draft.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Shifts to Double-A
Rotowire
The Nationals promoted Antuna from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday.
Antuna is one of two well-regarded Nationals prospects who will be making the jump to Double-A, as outfielder Robert Hassell -- one of the pieces Washington acquired in the Aug. 2 deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego -- was also promoted from Wilmington. Over his 415 plate appearances at High-A, the 22-year-old Antuna slashed .235/.372/.370 with 10 home runs and 26 stolen bases.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Strong start at High-A
Rotowire
Antuna is 5-for-13 (.385) with four walks and three strikeouts through four games at High-A Wilmington.
Antuna is already on the 40-man roster, so he will likely get bumped up to Double-A in the next month or two if he continues to showcase a strong approach. A seven-figure international signee in 2016, Antuna has been delayed by injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, and spent all of last season at the High-A level.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Moved to minor-league camp
Rotowire
The Nationals optioned Antuna to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
He was one of four players optioned among the Nationals' first cuts of big-league camp, joining pitchers Seth Romero (back), Gabe Klobosits and Evan Lee. The 22-year-old Antuna spent the entire 2021 campaign at High-A Wilmington, hitting .227 with 12 home runs and four stolen bases over 456 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Dispatched to minor-league camp
Rotowire
The Nationals optioned Antuna to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Though Washington protected Antuna from the Rule 5 draft this offseason by adding him to the 40-man roster, he was never in consideration for a spot on the Nationals' 26-man Opening Day squad. The 22-year-old has yet to play above the High-A level and is expected to spend most of the 2021 campaign at Rochester after not playing in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor-league season.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Protected from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
Antuna's contract was selected by the Nationals on Friday, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports.
Antuna was part of the Nationals' player pool this season but remained at the team's alternate training site. He's at least a moderately interesting prospect, but battles with injuries and then a season lost to the coronavirus pandemic have conspired to limit him to just three total games since the start of 2019, all of which came at the rookie-ball level. The highest level the 21-year-old has reached is Low-A, where he struggled to a .220/.293/.331 line over 87 games for Hagerstown in 2018.
Antuna was added to the Nationals' 60-player roster pool Friday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
The 20-year-old wasn't included in the initial group of players, but he'll still end up joining team workouts for the shortened season. Antuna missed most of 2019 due to injury and hasn't played above the Low-A level, so his inclusion in the pool will be a boost for his development in the absence of a minor-league season this year.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Recovered from injuries
Rotowire
Antuna (elbow) was healthy enough to participate in instructs in the Dominican Republic over the offseason, Keith Law of The Athletic reports.
He had Tommy John surgery in 2018 and suffered unrelated injuries while rehabbing in 2019, but is finally healthy. Antuna still has the tools to be a good switch hitter who hits 20-plus home runs someday, but he has missed significant developmental time heading into his age-20 season. He will likely be assigned to Low-A whenever the minor-league season gets underway.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Recovering from TJS
Rotowire
Antuna is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Byron Kerr of MASNSports.com reports.
He underwent the procedure in early August, so he could miss a good chunk of the first half of the 2019 season. Antuna, a switch-hitting infielder, has a lot of power potential, but struggled after an aggressive assignment to Low-A last year.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Yasel Antuna: Assigned to Low-A
Rotowire
Antuna will begin the season with Low-A Hagerstown, Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com reports.
The Nats' No. 4 fantasy prospect flashed his impressive offensive ceiling as a 17-year-old in rookie ball last season, slashing .301/.382/.399 with a precocious 23:29 BB:K in 199 plate appearances. Antuna will likely man second base for Hagerstown while Luis Garcia handles shortstop, and the duo should stick together through the lower levels of the minors as the club's double-play combo of the future.
