The Nationals just closed the book on one of the more disappointing chapters of the Juan Soto trade. Robert Hassell III, the outfielder Washington landed from San Diego back in 2022 as part of that blockbuster, has been dealt to the Pirates, according to MLBTradeRumors.
MLBTradeRumors confirmed the move sending Hassell III from Washington to Pittsburgh.
For a guy who was supposed to be one of the jewels of that Soto haul, this is a pretty quiet way to go. Hassell was the No. 8 overall pick back in 2020 before San Diego shipped him to DC alongside James Wood, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore for Soto and Josh Bell. Wood and Abrams turned into stars. Gore's been a rotation piece. Hassell never got there.
His big league debut finally came in 2025, and it did not go well — a .223 average with 3 homers and 18 RBIs across 70 games. This July, the Nationals designated him for assignment, he cleared waivers with zero teams willing to claim him, and he got outrighted back down to Triple-A Rochester. That's about as clear a signal as MLB sends that a former top prospect's stock has cratered.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has made a habit of scooping up buy-low outfield reclamation projects, and Hassell still has the tools that made him a first-rounder in the first place — plus-plus speed, a track record of hitting for average in the minors, and he's only 24. The trade reportedly came together for cash or a player to be named later, which tells you exactly how far his value has fallen since 2022.
It's a fresh start at a new address, and for a Nationals org already staring down a rebuild that hasn't fully turned the corner, watching a former headline piece of the Soto return get flipped for scraps stings a little. For Pittsburgh, it's a low-cost dice roll on tools that once had him rated as one of the best prospects in baseball.