Minor Moves: Diaz, Ardoin

A couple of small deals came over the wires recently. 

The Rangers acquired outfielder Victor Diaz for catcher Mike Nickeas.  Diaz, 24, is having big-time problems with Triple A this season (.606 OPS).  It’s surprising because he hit Triple A pitching pretty well as a 22 year-old.  He earned 280 ABs with the big club last year and managed to slug .468. 

Back in the summer of ’03, Diaz was sent from the Dodgers to the Mets in the Jeromy Burnitz deal.  He’s not known for his defense, and has been tried at 1B, 2B, 3B, C, LF, and RF in his career.  Perhaps a steady position and a change of scenery will get this once top-prospect back on track.

Nickeas is a 23 year-old catcher from Georgia Tech.  He has never done much offensively at Double A and will report to the Class A St. Lucie Mets. He could be a Major League backup a few years down the road.

Speaking of backup backstops, the Orioles claimed Danny Ardoin off waivers from the Rockies.  He’s a 32 year-old minor league lifer.  It’s hard to make this move sound interesting.  He played with Miguel Tejada in the minors, does that help?