The Nationals announced that outfielder Robert Hassell III has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. As a player with less than a year of big league service time and no prior outright assignments, Hassell must accept the assignment and report to Triple-A.

Washington designated Hassell for assignment a week ago, a disappointing development in the former top prospect’s career. Hassell, who turns 25 next month, was one of six players the Padres sent to the Nationals for Juan Soto at the 2022 trade deadline. Some considered him the prize of that return, though he’s since been outdone by James Wood, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore.

Whereas those three have ranged from good to excellent in the Majors, Hassell took longer to reach the top level and wasn’t immediately successful. He reached Double-A for the first time in 2023 but struggled to an 84 wRC+ there. He rebounded with a 116 wRC+ at that level in 2024 before struggling again upon reaching Triple-A. In a similar fashion, Hassell rebounded to post a 125 wRC+ at Triple-A in 2025. He finally reached the Majors that year, though he only managed to bat .223/.257/.315 with a 58 wRC+ in 206 plate appearances.

Having previously struck out and walked at better-than-average rates, Hassell looked overmatched against big league pitching, striking out 30.1% of the time and only walking at a 3.9% clip. The former remains an ongoing issue in 2026. Hassell is striking out at a 26.0% clip in 258 plate appearances at Triple-A, though his 10.9% walk rate keeps his on-base percentage serviceable. Nonetheless, Hassell’s lack of contact and power leaves him with a line of .215/.304/.289 and a 59 wRC+.

It doesn’t appear to be an issue of bad luck, as Hassell is batting .296 on balls in play this year, which would be slightly above average in the Majors. Rather, he’s simply struggling to make contact, much less do any damage at the plate. Perhaps Hassell’s numbers at Triple-A were inflated by good luck last year, as he had a .357 BABIP. Even factoring that in, it’s surprising to see a drop-off of this magnitude.

In any case, Hassell’s stock appears to have fallen far enough that nobody was willing to claim him on waivers. As a result, he’ll remain in the Nationals organization and bide his time at Triple-A. Earlier today, the club promoted Abimelec Ortiz, who figures to see time as a right fielder and DH. Beyond him, Jacob Young is the other backup outfielder, and while he’s not hitting well, he’s an excellent defender. With Ortiz and Young on the roster, Hassell faces an uphill battle to get back to the Majors, even if he gets back on track at Triple-A.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images