The Nationals announced Thursday that they’ve traded outfielder Robert Hassell III to the Pirates in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. Washington recently designated the former first-round pick and top prospect for assignment. He cleared waivers a few days ago and was outrighted to Triple-A. As such, he was not on the Nats’ 40-man roster and won’t count against the 40-man roster with his new organization.
Hassell, now 24, was once a highly-touted prospect but his stock has dropped significantly. The Padres took him eighth overall in the 2020 draft. He then was flipped to the Nats as part of the Juan Soto trade, alongside CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood and Jarlin Susana. Abrams, Gore and Wood all became solid big leaguers with the Nats, though Gore was subsequently traded to the Rangers. Susana is recovering from last year’s lat surgery but became one of the top pitching prospects in the league before that.
Meanwhile, Hassell was the one piece in the trade that didn’t pan out for Washington. Over 2023 and 2024, he hit a combined .229/.322/.324 in the minors, with that production leading to a wRC+ of 88. He performed better on the farm last year, which got him a big league audition, but that didn’t go well. He stepped to the plate 206 times but struck out in 30.1% of those and only walked at a 3.9% clip. That led to a .223/.257/.315 line and 58 wRC+. He was sent back to the minors this year and hit .215/.304/.289 for a 59 wRC+.
Those struggles pushed him off the roster and the 29 other clubs passed on the chance to get him off waivers a few days ago. For the Bucs, it’s a low-risk move. They are not using a roster spot on Hassell and aren’t giving up much. He’s got decent speed and is considered capable of being a solid defender. If he can get on track at the plate, he’d be a solid piece.
Pittsburgh’s position player group has taken some hits lately, as Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, Konnor Griffin and Endy Rodríguez have all hit the injured list in the past six weeks. They currently have Jake Mangum, Esmerlyn Valdéz and Bryan Reynolds in the outfield, while the designated hitter spot is being shared by multiple players. Cruz should be back in the outfield mix shortly. The return of Horwitz could push Ryan O’Hearn to the outfield or the DH spot. If Hassell can find himself offensively, he can work his way into that mix in the future.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images
