MLB Rumors: Padres Withdraw Contract Offer to Prospect Who Allegedly Falsified Age

Julia StumbaughNovember 3, 2024

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The San Diego Padres withdrew a verbal agreement with a prospect from the Dominican Republic after discovering he had claimed to be five years older than his true age, Jorge Castillo and Alden Gonzalez reported for ESPN.

The prospect, who assumed the name Cesar Altagracia, was believed to be 14 years old. He agreed to sign with the Padres for $4 million once he was eligible for international free agency in 2027, according to Castillo and Gonzalez.

The MLB then learned that Altagracia is a 19-year-old, who has previously represented the Dominican Republic in youth tournaments under a “false identity,” Castillo and Gonzalez reported.

According to Castillo and Gonzalez, the MLB has seen an “uptick in high-profile players showcasing themselves with falsified birth certificates to present themselves as much as five years younger” over the past year.

That reported increase could include a New York Mets’ outfielder prospect from the Dominican Republic, who was reportedly suspended in April for falsifying his identity and age, according to Mike Mayer of Metsmerized.

The prospect, who went by Anthony Baptist, was signed for $1.1 million at a reported age of 17 in 2023.

It is typical for players to be suspended for one year if they are found to be lying about their age, Castillo and Gonzalez reported.

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal reported in January that MLB executives and agents believe that “age and identity fraud among amateur baseball players in the Dominican Republic… is on the rise again” ahead of the 2024 season.

An MLB official told Drellich and Rosenthal that the league had “not seen any material statistical change in those numbers over the last several years,” but The Athletic reporters noted that these numbers would not encapsulate verbal agreements made with prospects allegedly too young to sign with a team.

According to Drellich and Rosenthal, the Mets as well as the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics were among teams who had “recently” discovered an international prospect they were in talks with had falsified their age.

Per Drellich and Rosenthal, “several” of these players were in line for bonuses of over $1 million, an amount they might not have been able to net as older prospects.

As Drellich and Rosenthal wrote in January:

“The league does background checks on international amateurs across all countries through its Age and Identity Investigation department, which was put in place over a decade ago. But the league does not vet players who are more than a year away from being eligible to be signed. Some teams therefore hire their own private investigators to check paperwork and backgrounds of younger players.”MLB has previously considered implementing an international draft, but was unable to reach an agreement with the MLBPA ahead of the signing of the new CBA in 2022.