Robert Hassell III’s path from centerpiece prospect to roster casualty has taken another sharp turn.
Three days after the Washington Nationals designated the 24-year-old outfielder for assignment, he is still waiting to find out what comes next. The move pulled him off the 40-man roster and gave Washington seven days to either work out a trade or put him on outright or unconditional release waivers.
It’s a jarring development for a player who once carried major-league buzz in the San Diego Padres system, back when he was viewed as a can’t-miss talent and part of the return in the first Juan Soto blockbuster on Aug. 2, 2022.
Hassell, James Wood, C.J. Abrams, Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Santana went to Washington in that deal, while Soto and Josh Bell headed to San Diego.
Now, four years later, the Nationals are finally climbing out of a long rebuild under new managers and general managers, with Wood and Abrams emerging as franchise cornerstones. The Padres, meanwhile, have already moved on from Soto, and Hassell may yet circle back into their organization.
For the moment, though, his stock has taken a hit. Hassell was hitting just .215/.304/.289 for the Rochester Red Wings, with two home runs in 258 plate appearances during his second full season with Washington’s Triple-A affiliate.
That’s a steep drop from where he was not long ago. In 2021, Hassell was a California League All-Star.
The next year, he earned a Futures Game nod and made the Midwest League All-Star team with the Fort Wayne TinCaps. He reached Triple-A in 2024, was named an AFL Rising Star with the Salt River Rafters, and then got added to Washington’s 40-man roster after the season.
His 2025 spring training looked promising enough, too. Hassell hit .286, going 8-for-28 in 13 games.
But with the Nationals now in the thick of a playoff race, the patience appears to have worn thin. Washington sits at 48-46, 3.5 games behind the surprising Miami Marlins for the third and final wild-card spot in the NL. San Diego is right there too at 46-46, 4.5 games back of Miami.
Hassell could be on the move soon, whether that means a return to the Padres or a fresh start somewhere else.
In Other News...
Nationals Prospect Is Making This Decision Impossible To Ignore
Yohandy Morales has done enough at Triple-A to keep forcing the issue, and the numbers are starting to look like those of a hitter who is no longer just knocking on the door. The Nationals prospect is batting .303 with 21 home runs and a .930 OPS, production that stands out even with the usual caveats about contact rate and a ground-ball profile that still need watching.
What has made the conversation harder to ignore is that Morales has also shown signs of tightening up the parts of his game that had been holding him back. His recent strikeout rate has improved, his ball flight has trended in a better direction, and with his Rule 5 eligibility coming this offseason, Washington may soon have to decide how much longer it can keep waiting before making room for him. [Read more 🡒]
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Cosgrove is a recent pickup from the Astros and has barely had time to settle in with the organization, making just one appearance for Triple-A Rochester since arriving. With the roster picture changing quickly, Washington is giving itself another look at a pitcher it brought in to provide depth and flexibility as the bullpen keeps evolving. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Made A Pitching Move That Could Reshape Their Depth Chart
The Nationals pitching pipeline took another turn this week, with the organization making a move that could ripple through the depth chart as the big league club keeps sorting out its relief picture. It comes against the backdrop of a busy minor league slate, where Rochester dropped a tight 8-7 game at Worcester, Harrisburg kept rolling with an 8-3 win over Erie, and Fredericksburg and the FCL Nationals also turned in wins that offered a snapshot of how much arms and bats are being tested across the system.
For Washington, the larger question is less about one box score than about how the club balances immediate needs with long-term depth. The minor league results show a system with some momentum in spots and some frustration in others, but the pitching shuffle is the part that matters most at the top level. However the next round of decisions plays out, it figures to say plenty about which arms the Nationals trust to help now and which ones they want to keep close for later. [Read more 🡒]