Former Dodgers Top Prospect Involved in Mookie Betts Trade Designated for Assignment
Former Dodgers top prospect Jeter Downs was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees on Friday.
Downs, 25, is most known by Dodger fans as one of the three players traded to the Boston Red Sox in the Mookie Betts trade. The Red Sox acquired Downs, Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong in that deal. Verdugo was traded to the Yankees this offseason. Downs was signed by the Yankees this offseason and has now been DFA'd. Wong is the last remaining piece of that deal still in Boston.
Downs has struggled to get consistent playing time in his young MLB career.
In 2022, he made 14 appearances with the Red Sox, going 6-for-39 with one home run, one double, four runs batted in and 21 strikeouts. He ended up getting DFA'd by Boston, and was picked up by the Washington Nationals.
In Washington, Downs went 2-for-5 with four walks in 2023.
Downs was hoping to get a chance with New York, but instead, he's back on the free agent market yet again.
At just 25 years old, there's still a lot of time for Downs to live up to his potential. The former first-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2017 MLB Draft was ranked as high as the Dodgers' No. 8 prospect in 2019, per MLB Pipeline.
