Padres Prospect Cruz Self-Deports After Guilty Plea

San Diego Padres pitching prospect Humberto Cruz has self-deported to Mexico following a guilty plea to a federal misdemeanor charge related to transporting undocumented immigrants in Arizona.

The 19-year-old right-hander, a Mexican citizen legally in the United States on a work visa, pleaded guilty in November to accessory after the fact to improper entry after federal authorities dismissed a related felony charge. Court documents detail that on October 28, U.S. Border Patrol agents near Lukeville observed Cruz driving a BMW SUV with Mexican license plates southbound on State Route 85 alone. Roughly an hour later, the same vehicle headed northbound with two additional passengers, raising suspicion due to insufficient time to reach the nearby port of entry legally.

Agents stopped the vehicle and found two Mexican citizens who had entered the country illegally, one deported just days earlier through Nogales. Cruz admitted to authorities that he responded to a social media advertisement offering $1,000 per person to pick up and transport individuals, whom he knew were undocumented. He received directions via pin drops on his phone and was headed toward Tucson and Phoenix. Cruz...