A new report claims a Dominican prospect the New York Mets gave a million-dollar signing bonus to last year allegedly lied about his age.
Few baseball fans in New York City haven’t heard the name Danny Almonte. The native of the Dominican Republic rose to national fame when he was the star player on a team from Bronx, New York that went all the way to the Little League World Series.
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He became a hero in a city that loves baseball and he was seen as a future big league star. However, the narrative about him was forever changed when it was revealed that he lied about his age and was two whole years older than the max-age of 12 allowed by tournament officials.
It became a national disgrace and now when fans hear stories of baseball players lying about their age, Almonte’s story often immediately comes to mind. That was likely the case for New York fans on Friday when Mets reporter Mike Mayer claimed on X that “minor leaguer Anthony Baptist has been suspended for lying about his age/identity.”
The team gave the Dominican outfielder who claimed he was 17 years old a $1.1 million signing bonus in January 2023 as part of their international signings.
New York Mets minor leaguer Anthony Baptist was one of the top 30 international prospects of 2023
Baptist was ranked 29th on MLB.com‘s rankings of the best international prospects of 2023. Here is their scouting report on the player they called “one of the fastest” in his class.
“He’s expected to start in center field and stay at the position as he develops, primarily because of his speed, but also because he has the potential to be an above-average defender. He can chase balls down in the outfield and like all prospects his age, he is working on fine-tuning his routes and angles.
The hope is that his speed — he has been consistently clocked at 6.1 seconds in the 60-yard-timed run — will also come into play on the bases and he can develop into a base-stealer in the future. When you consider his emerging bat-to-ball skills and overall athleticism, he could slot in near the top of the lineup.”
– MLB.com
It is unclear at this time what Anthony Baptist’s actual age is, how long his suspension will be, or if the lie would terminate his deal with the organization.