The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired outfielder Robert Hassell III, who was part of the blockbuster Padres/Juan Soto trade, from the Nationals, Washington announced.
Via @NationalsComms on X: “The Nationals have traded outfielder Robert Hassell III to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.”
TRADE: Pittsburgh Pirates Acquire Juan Soto Trade Piece Robert Hassell III From Nationals
GettyThe Pirates have acquired Robert Hassell III from the Nationals.
The Nationals designated Hassell for assignment on July 5. He cleared waivers on July 12, and Washington outrighted him to Triple-A Rochester. Since he wasn’t on the Nationals’ 40-man roster at the time of the trade, he also won’t be on the Pirates’ 40-man roster for now.
At this point, Hassell’s claim to fame is his role in the Padres/Nationals Juan Soto trade. On Aug 2, 2022, the Nationals traded Soto and first baseman Josh Bell to the Padres in exchange for first baseman Luke Voit, left-hander MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, outfielder James Wood, right-hander Jarlin Susana and Hassell.
Hassell used to be a top prospect. Pre-2023, MLB Pipeline had him tabbed as the No. 35 overall prospect in baseball. Obviously, Hassell hasn’t lived up to his top prospect ranking.
The outfielder is still very young, just 24 years old. He made his MLB debut with Washington last season and hit .223/.257/.315 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 206 plate appearances. He’s had an abysmal 2026 season with Triple-A Rochester, slashing just .215/.304/.289 with two home runs and 21 RBI in 258 plate appearances over 63 games.
Revisiting the Juan Soto Trade Between the Nationals and Padres
While Soto provided San Diego with exceptional value during his time with the organization, it’s hard to say that Washington lost the trade.
Soto finished the 2022 season by hitting .236/.388/.390 with six homers and 16 RBI in 52 games for San Diego. The slugger then had an outstanding 2023 season for the club, slashing .275/.410/.519 with 35 homers and 109 RBI in 162 games.
The following offseason, the Padres dealt Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees for catcher Kyle Higashioka and right-hander Michael King, Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vásquez.
King has been a great starter for San Diego, and re-signed with the club on a three-year contract this past offseason. In 65 appearances (64 starts) for San Diego, King has posted a strong 3.19 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP and 369 strikeouts over 355 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Brito had a decent 2024 season (4.12 ERA, 43 2/3 IP), but missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s made just two appearances this year.
As for Thorpe, the Padres used him to acquire right-hander Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox. Cease posted a 3.98 ERA in 65 starts across two seasons for San Diego before signing with the Toronto Blue Jays this past offseason.
Vásquez has been a decent starter for San Diego, posting a 4.23 ERA in 76 appearances (67 starts) since joining the team. And then Higashioka was solid in 84 games for the Padres, posting 1.4 bWAR and a 1o1 OPS+.
So the Padres got value out of Soto, then got some value back by dealing him to the Yankees. However, the Nationals arguably won the trade.
Hassell may not have panned out, but Wood and Abrams are both among the best players in the game. Both started in this year’s All-Star Game.
In 333 games with Washington, Wood has posted 8.8 bWAR and a .265/.369/.493 slash line with 68 home runs and 199 RBI. Meanwhile, Abrams has posted 13 bWAR with a .254/.314/.432 slash line in 570 games for the Nationals.
Also, the Nationals got a whole new crop of prospects by trading Gore to the Texas Rangers this past offseason, receiving shortstop Gavin Fien, right-hander Alejandro Rosario, infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald, outfielder Yeremy Cabrera, and first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz.
Both the Nationals and Padres have benefited from the Soto trade in different ways. It’ll be interesting to see if Hassell can revive his career with the Pirates.
TRADE: Pittsburgh Pirates Acquire Juan Soto Trade Piece From Nationals