Astros manager Joe Espada says that infielder/outfielder Aledmys Díaz has been released, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X. That’s the corresponding move for the club’s selection of infielder Shay Whitcomb, which was previously reported.
The Astros signed Díaz to a minor league deal last month after he was released by the Athletics, adding him to their roster shortly thereafter. He got hardly any playing time at all in Houston, with four plate appearances in almost a month on the roster. He went 0-4 in those, striking out twice.
There was no real cost for the Astros in grabbing Díaz for that stint on the roster. The A’s are still on the hook for his salary after releasing him earlier this year. Oakland signed him to a two-year, $14.5MM deal going into 2023 and got very little in return for that investment. Díaz has hit .216/.265/.313 since the start of 2023 for a wRC+ of 60, which prompted them to cut him loose earlier this year.
He’ll return to the open market in the coming days and perhaps will garner attention based on his previous track record. With the A’s still on the hook for most of his salary, it would essentially be a no-cost pickup for any club that has interest.
From 2016 to 2022, Díaz hit .266/.320/.443 in 582 games between the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Astros. That production translated into a 105 wRC+, indicating he was 5% better than league average during that seven-year stretch. He did that while providing plenty of defensive versatility, lining up at all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners.
His name is disgusting. Its whole purpose is to illicit anger among mlbtraderumors readers. Steve needs to have it removed. This is a baseball site.
1) I agree that it is a truly tasteless and classless ID
2) Steve doesn’t make that call – would be Tim
3) its a disqus account that can be used across multiple sites not just this site so not much can be done other than to mute
Bad day to be a guy named Diaz who was decent in 2018 or so.
Jose Iglisias has played basically for the league minimum the past 2 years and batted .317 last year and is batting .330 this year.. The A’s paying Aledmys Diaz 14.5 mil for the same 2 years was a really, really bad signing.
Agree.
Not sure why A’s made this signing. They should be signing high upside. Imo.
He’s a prime candidate for the Cardinals nostalgia tour.
I thought the very same thing when I first heard Diaz was DFAd. Cards fans have already released Crawford, replaced him with Card 4 Life Diaz, and arranged for his bobblehead night next weekend. If only AZ hadn’t snagged Knizner last week the reunion tour would be bigger and better than ever.
I didn’t understand why they gave him no playing time. I’m not saying he was still good, but there’s no reason to have him if he isn’t playing.
I appreciate his ability to carry the team for about a month each season during his prime.
Interesting release with news that Bregman is hurt, too.