Nationals shoring up Dominican operations

The Washington Nationals are finally recovering from an incident in which they paid a Dominican prospect a $1.4 million signing bonus in 2006.  Esmailyn González told the team he was 13 when he signed, though he was actually 17.  He also gave a fake name.


The fallout from the fiasco cost general manager Jim Bowden, top Latin american advisor and former player Jose Rijo, and nearly the entire baseball operations staff their jobs.  The Nationals have since moved their Dominican operations, and seem to be on a better track.


The Washington Post put out a series of great articles on this story in addition to the one above.  They each have wonderful photos from the Dominican Republic and really tap into the poverty and extreme conditions that these prospects face:

• The Nationals in the Dominican Republic: One Last Word
• Two years later, Washington Nationals moving past Esmailyn 'Smiley' Gonzalez scandal in Dominican Republic
• Washington Nationals haven't completely gotten 'Smiley' out of their system