Guardians sign former Nationals hyped top prospect to minor league contract

Over the weekend, veteran Guardians beat reporter Paul Hoynes wrote in a mailbag that he believed the Guardians were planning on bringing in some hitters this offseason on minor league deals. 

That prediction came true on Tuesday, as the Guardians signed third baseman Carter Kieboom to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league spring training. 

Guardians add to minor league depth by signing Carter Kieboom

Kieboom’s big league journey started in 2016 when the Washington Nationals picked him in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of high school. He quickly rose through the Nationals’ prospect ranks and made his MLB debut in 2019 for a Nationals team that won the World Series. 

He entered the 2020 season as the No. 21 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, and seemed to be the Nationals’ third baseman of the future thanks to Washington’s trade of Anthony Rendon. 

Kieboom wasn’t able to do much with that opportunity, however, as he hit just .206 across 95 games with the Nationals across 2020 and 2021. He missed all of the 2022 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and only managed to play in 27 games with the Nationals in 2023 before being outrighted off their MLB roster. 

He spent all of 2024 at Triple-A with Washington and signed with the Angels for 2025 where he went 2-for-8 in three games. 

It’s important to note that all three of those appearances came at first base, marking the first time that he appeared at a position other than third base in his MLB career. He also played at second base in the minors. 

José Ramírez obviously has third base on lock, so any positional flexibility will obviously help him in his quest to make the Guardians' roster. 

Even though he doesn’t have the kind of major league bonafides that Guardians fans would want from an offensive signing, he’s still only 28, so there’s a chance that he could end up being  a late bloomer. He hit .319 with nine home runs and 57 RBI in 93 games at Triple-A for the Angels last season, and is a career .288 hitter at Triple-A. 

Even though this kind of signing doesn’t carry the kind of attention that a marquee major league signing does, it’s still important given how the Guardians operate. Last year Will Wilson played in 34 games for the Guardians as a true depth infielder, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Kieboom sees some time at Progressive Field. 

He also could serve as a solid insurance option behind prospects Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito (who should both make their MLB debut at some point during 2026) and MLB incumbents Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio.