As the Nationals celebrated James Wood and CJ Abrams earning their second All-Star appearances, the organization designated former top prospect Robert Hassell III for assignment to make room for reliever Eddy Yean on the 40-man roster before Sunday’s game.

Hassell, the No. 8 pick in the 2020 MLB draft, was traded from San Diego — along with Wood, Abrams, right-handed prospect Jarlin Susana, former ace MacKenzie Gore and Luke Voit — to Washington in the 2022 Juan Soto deal.

Hassell struggled on offense and didn’t play plus defense in center field — though he has a plus arm and running ability.

Hassell made an electrifying major league debut last season that saw him score the deciding run in an 8-7 win over the Guardians and become the first player in team history to record a multihit game with a stolen base in his debut.

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The former top prospect would never reach those highs again, posting a .572 OPS across 70 games in the majors last season.

He entered spring training having added 25 pounds of muscle to access more in-game power, but it never came together. This season, Hassell was batting .215/.304/.289 over 63 games at Triple-A Rochester.

The Nationals’ outfield is crowded. Daylen Lile and Wood are entrenched in the corners. Jacob Young is a regular in center field, and Dylan Crews has proven capable of manning all three spots. Gavin Fien, one of the prospects acquired when Washington traded Gore to the Texas Rangers in January, profiles as an outfielder at the major league level.

Given the outfield crunch and Hassell’s subpar play, his hold on a 40-man spot became tenuous. But Hassell doesn’t have to look far to see players thriving after not succeeding with a previous team.

Third baseman Curtis Mead has been a revelation at third base for the Nationals after being a part-time player with the Rays and White Sox.

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The Soto trade was a coup for the Nationals, who saw Wood, Abrams and Gore blossom into All-Stars. Soto played another season with the Padres before being traded to the Yankees in 2024 ahead of free agency — he signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets.

The Nationals sent Gore to the Rangers for a hefty prospect package — Fien, infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald, outfielder Yeremy Cabrera, right-hander Alejandro Rosario and first baseman Abimelec Ortiz — they hope forms a promising core.

If there’s any lesson to be learned from the Soto trade, it’s that not every prospect is going to develop as planned.