3:10pm: The Rockies announced that Diaz has been given his unconditional release. He’s a free agent who can sign with any club at any point. Romo’s contract has indeed been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque in his place.
Colorado also reinstated left-hander Lucas Gilbreath from the 60-day injured list. A spot on the 40-man roster was already cleared by yesterday’s outright of Josh Rogers. Gilbreath has been out since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2023.
1:55pm: In place of Diaz, the Rockies are expected to select the contract of catching prospect Drew Romo, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’ll presumably slot into the Rockies’ primary catching role down the stretch and audition for a potential long-term gig behind the plate in Denver.
1:45pm: The Rockies are releasing catcher Elias Diaz, whom they placed on outright waivers earlier this week, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. Once he’s cleared release waivers, he’ll be free to sign with any club. The new team would only owe Diaz the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster or injured list. The Rockies will be on the hook for the remainder of this season’s $6MM salary.
That Diaz is slated to be released is an indicator that no other club was willing to take on his remaining $1.45MM salary (plus the $50K fee for placing a waiver claim). Colorado could’ve simply kept Diaz on the roster and attempted to waive him again later this month when he was owed less money, but it seems they’ll instead part ways with the veteran backstop entirely, granting him extra time to settle in with a contending club down the stretch. Diaz had been in the final season of a three-year, $14.5MM contract with the Rockies and is a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so the move to release him appears to primarily be about affording him the ability to latch on with a contending club while also clearing time for a look at Romo.
Releasing Diaz now will naturally raise questions as to why the Rockies didn’t move Diaz for even a modest return at last month’s trade deadline. It’s a fair gripe on the surface, although it stands to reason that if Diaz went unclaimed when he’d cost other teams around $1.5MM in total, there probably wasn’t a robust trade market for him when he was owed more money and the Rockies were seeking prospect value in return.
It’s still plenty arguable that the Rox should’ve sold high on him at last year’s trade deadline or perhaps in the offseason, but the Rox instead added some modest pieces and entered this year with visions of a more competitive club than they’ve ultimately fielded.
Diaz, 33, is hitting .270/.315/.378 on the season. That’s a solid-looking line, particularly for a catcher, though metrics like wRC+ (80) and OPS+ (88) feel he’s been below-average at the plate after adjusting for the Rockies’ hitter-friendly home environment. Either of those marks is passable for a backstop with solid defensive grades, however, and Diaz is just that. He’s delivered markedly improved framing grades in 2024 and been credited with plus marks in Defensive Runs Saved (5) and Outs Above Average (5).
Diaz has never been a plus hitter outside of a strong 2018 showing with the Pirates, but he owns a .254/.306/.406 line over the past four seasons, during which he’s averaged 17 homers per 162 games played. He’s not an elite catcher but is a serviceable option who’s had his share of big league success and experience. At the very least, he’s an upgrade over the backup option for many postseason hopefuls. And as long as he signs with a new club on or before Aug. 31, he’ll be eligible for his new team’s postseason roster.
As for the 22-year-old Romo, he was the No. 35 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2020 and ranked among the game’s top-100 prospects as recently as the 2022-23 offseason. He’s considered to be a glove-first catcher but has shown more offense in the upper minors across the past two seasons, including a quality .297/.339/.499 batting line in a very hitter-friendly Albuquerque setting this season (103 wRC+).
Scouting reports at FanGraphs, Baseball America and other outlets praise the switch-hitting Romo as a plus defender with a plus arm but well below-average power. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen noted that Romo had some uncharacteristic throwing issues last year (19% caught-stealing rate), but he’s bounced back in a big way with a heartier 29% rate in 2024.
With Diaz released and fellow backstop Jacob Stallings also playing on an expiring contract, Romo ought to be given a full run as the team’s starting catcher. Colorado doesn’t have any other near-ready catching prospects — Hunter Goodman can catch some, but they’ve used him more in the outfield — and certainly doesn’t have another one with Romo’s defensive chops.
Romo and Goodman could potentially shoulder the workload behind the plate down the stretch, depending on what comes of Stallings, who’s hitting .266/.367/.457 in 216 plate appearances while playing on a one-year, $2MM contract. Speculatively speaking, if the Rox are comfortable with Goodman collecting more playing time behind the plate, they could make a similar move with Stallings to the one they’ve made with Diaz.
Arguably the most overrated player so far this decade
Can’t be too overrated if he’s being released
The decade prior was Brandon Wood.
I’ve barely heard of him. How overrated could he be?
BJ Upton, Buxton, Chisholm, and Gallo all come to mind.
Walker Buehler, Mike Moustakas, Joey Gallo…
He got some money out of it.
organizational malpractice that the Rox didn’t trade Stallings and/or Diaz at the TDL. neither would have likely fetched much, but they’re older players on expiring deals and something certainly seems better than nothing
Diaz doesn’t kill you at the plate and has mostly solid-to-good defensive metrics. Stallings has a 119 wRC+ on the year and also gets pretty solid marks defensively. His bat has also been much better on the road so it’s not like you can say the Coors field advantage is helping him
Rockies doing Rockies s things.
How can the Rockies be blamed for not trading him? No team was willing to take him in the last 48 hours for NOTHING. Why does anyone think that any team would have given a prospect for him two weeks ago?
NOTHING = his remaining salary of $1.5MM?
Yes, but if they traded for him they would have had to pay the salary + a prospect. You know what I meant.
Considering it’s the Rockies, I think we have to assume they overplayed their hand to some degree. Maybe they were asking for more than what any team was willing to give up or thought they could approach Diaz for a new contract if the deadline passed.
Barring some deeper, underlying reason we don’t know about that would explain why no body wanted Diaz but I’m a little surprised no one even claimed him. Teams have given up low-ceiling prospects or made waiver claims for guys playing worse. Assuming there’s nothing else going on here, then the only other assumption is that teams knew the Rockies were going to cut him anyway and figured they would take their chances on signing him for a prorated portion of the minimum rather than take his remaining salary.
No one claimed him bc then they would be on the hook for the remaining salary by letting him free agency they only owe the prorated amount of the salary while Rockies pay the rest
hiflew
“How can the Rockies be blamed for not trading him? ”
There’s a lot of people here who don’t understand baseball nearly as well as they pretend they do
there is a big difference between actively pushing players at the TDL and DFA’ing a player and hoping someone picks them up for a marginal deal
Why didn’t the Rockies trade a lot more besides just these two. They should have sold their whole team because they don’t really have anyone to build around besides Brenton Doyle.
Most confusing franchise of all time
The Marlins are on line two.
Marlins have at least won two WS in my lifetime
They should not be a franchise. Neither should Miami, Tampa, Toronto, or Washington.
Just an MLB money grab years ago with no strong fan bases in any of those cities. MLB would see more fan involvement and better crowds in:
Nashville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Las Vegas,
Washington ranks ahead of ten franchises in attendance this year (during a rebuild), and Toronto is in the top ten.
lb
“Just an MLB money grab years ago with no strong fan bases in any of those cities. MLB would see more fan involvement and better crowds in:
Nashville, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Las Vegas”
So…MLB decided to grab money by expanding to cities with fewer fans? That’s what you’re trying to say?
The Cardinals should take a look at him
When was the last time an All Star MVP was released a little more than a year later? Melky Cabrera maybe? I know it happened to LaMarr Hoyt a little bit longer, but that was drug-related.
“should’ve sold high on him at last year’s trade deadline” — can be used to describe so many Rox, at one point: Marquez, Story, now Diaz, who else?
Nolan Arenado before the extension. Same can be applied to Daniel Bard a couple years ago
McMahon this year too since he would’ve been one of the top infielders on the trade market.
Daniel Bard, who, at 37 years old and in the midst of an unexpected career renaissance, and with the franchise nowhere close to contention, was extended instead of traded.
Yeah, I don’t get that at all. The last thing a rebuilding team needs is a star closer. Mason Miller needs to be on a 1-way ticket to the highest bidder, before he books it to Neal ElAttrache.
I am stunned that the Rockies couldn’t get some organization’s #25 prospect for Diaz at the deadline.
Shouldn’t be that stunned. No one was willing to take him for free over the past 48 hours, why would anyone give up a prospect for him two weeks ago?
Maybe because the Rockies would have kicked in a lot of money in such a trade just like they are doing right now?
Why would you buy a low end prospect just to get rid of someone when you can just sign someone equally talented to a minor league deal this offseason. Lower end top 30 prospects are not the pots of gold you guys seem to think. Sure there are a few that work out well, but most of the 26-30 ranked guys will be mediocre relievers or bench players for their careers.
It is better to have something than nothing. Most “rentals” switch teams with a prospect going the opposite way. I’m sure the Rockies could have gotten a couple of DSL/Rookie kids with certain upside for Diaz, an MLB calibre catcher. That is the way to go here.
It doesn’t surprise me no team picked him up immediately with most contender rosters set since the trade deadline.
This is really yet another example of bad Rockies’ management and I feel sorry for all those people in Denver who keep on going to Coors, but get to see a competent team just once in…what…every decade?
Lol the deadline was a few weeks ago.
Hes a good ballplayer, rare catcher who hits for an average.
Hope he lands on a contender.
Wtf Rockies?
I would think someone will pick him up. Always needing extra depth behind home plate.
Some odd releases lately
If White Sox don’t take him, and get rid of Chuckie Robinson, they will reach a new level dumbness.
Irony
Emilia: There’s no point for the White Sox to take him to maybe lose only 120 games instead of 122.
Why would the Whitesox add any money at this point?
He wouldn’t cost anything. Col has to pay.
I’d like to see the reds give him shot
I’m surprised they couldn’t trade him, but it would be a Rockies thing to do to hold on to him and then release him for nothing
Let’s hope Romo pans out and they don’t get a repeat of replacing Chris Iannetta with Dom Nuñez 5 years ago
Romo is more highly regarded than Nunez ever was. A better analogy would be when they traded Iannetta the first time and replaced him with Wilin Rosario. Let’s hope it works out better than that one too.
In all that, MLBTR failed to say who was being sent down to make room for Gilbreath on the active roster. Looks like it was Riley Pint and his ERA near 20.
Excellent picture choice
Who releases a catcher who is batting .270? His career numbers are also more than respectable for a catcher. Must be something else to this story. (Grab him, Nats!!)
Such stupid bums they could’ve traded Diaz at the deadline someone would’ve at least given them a prospect but of course the Rockies probably would’ve ruined that prospect just like they ruined Kris Bryant
The Tigers DFA Gio Urshela. Rockies and Tigers sometimes look like they have a plan and other times, lost.