The Padres Were Nearly Tricked Into Giving $4 Million To a 14 Year Old Top International Prospect - Turns Out He Lied About His Whole Identity And Was Actually 19

Like the famous scene from the movie 'The Benchwarmers,' it turns out the Padres signed a 14 year old top international prospect from the Dominican Republic who was actually 19 and lied to them about everything. Classic stuff.  

A Major League Baseball investigation recently found a top teenage prospect in the Dominican Republic who had verbally agreed to sign with the San Diego Padres falsified his paperwork and is 5 years older than previously believed, resulting in the agreement being withdrawn, sources told ESPN.

The teenager, who assumed the name Cesar Altagracia, verbally agreed to sign with the Padres for about $4 million, a substantial bonus that signified he was considered one of the top international prospects in his class. The transaction would have become official in January 2027, once Altagracia became eligible to sign as a 16-year-old international free agent.  

But MLB discovered he is 19 years old, not 14, as his documents stated. The teenager represented the Dominican Republic at the 2022 U-12 Baseball World Cup and at the U-15 Pan American Championships this summer under the false identity, sources said.

None of this is new when it comes to baseball. Falsifying ages has been a thing for a long, long time when it comes to international players. Albert Pujols, for example, was alleged to be older than he actually was for quite some time. It was never proven, but it was definitely a talked about rumor. Octavio Dotel and Miguel Tejada had their ages questioned as well. 

I just wonder how this stuff goes on for so long. Like aren't there noticeable physical differences from a 19 year old and someone who is FOURTEEN?? Enough that you'd do some digging just to make sure things are kosher and no funny business is afoot? 

Can't imagine how defeated that Padres front office had to have been realizing they were about to hand this dude $4M and he was five years older than they thought. They didn't even know his real name. Think about how the scout must feel who discovered this kid. Good thing it was only a verbal agreement I suppose, but you lose all credibility when that's the player you bring up to give $4M to. How was there no vetting process? 

Probably was really fun being that 19 year old playing in a u15 league. When I was a camp counselor we'd play the kids in basketball like 2 on 5 and I came away feeling like LeBron. You leave those games with the kids feeling demoralized after throwing euro steps and spin moves without any regard for human life. No wonder this dude became the top prospect of the 2027 class. Almost got away with it too (not really). 

Obligatory Benchwarmers clip as we close out the blog.