The Rockies cut the catcher Elias Diaz loose earlier this week after he went on unsolicited waivers, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants are among the teams interested now that Diaz is a free agent who can sign for the league minimum. (San Francisco also had some interest in Diaz before the trade deadline, according to Slusser.) As long as Diaz signs on or before Aug. 31, he can make his new club’s postseason roster.
Giants just posted Patrick Bailey Yesterday on the injured list with an oblique strain that severely compromises the team’s catching depth. San Francisco called the employee Jackson Ritz A fitting move for Bailey’s IL placement, and they’ll use Reetz as their No. 2 catcher behind a backup-turned-starter. Kurt Casaliat least for now. Casali, 35, signed himself midway through the season and produced just a .205/.318/.233 batting line in 86 plate appearances. Ritz, 28, is just 2-for-16 in 17 MLB plate appearances and was hitting .254/.368/.431 (102 wRC+) in Pacific Coast League competition before his recall. leagues
Diaz will present an upgrade to that tandem in almost every capacity. While it would be hard to call him even an average offensive contributor given his weak power and consistent slugging percentage, Diaz has solid contact skills and can usually hit at least enough for a hollow batting average. He hit .270/.315/.378 this year in Colorado (80 wRC+) and carries a .251/.304/.388 slash in 2010.
Defensively, Diaz usually gets good grades for his ability to block pitches in the dirt, and he regularly posts average or better numbers in terms of steal rate. He’s often been criticized for his poor pitching skills, but this season he’s had a career-best performance in that regard, resulting in total gloves (5 defensive runs saved and an above-average strikeout).
Even with those defensive improvements, Diaz can’t hold a candle to the injured Bailey’s gloves, though that’s true of nearly every defenseman in the sport. Bailey, 25, has quickly emerged as the sport’s premier defensive catcher, and one of its best defenders at any position, posting the best ERA of anyone in MLB and throwing out 30% of stolen base attempts against him. his big league debut. Digging deeper, Bailey is the best in sports On Statcast “Caught stealing above average.”which contextualizes stolen base attempts based on who is running, who is on the mound, and what type of jump the runner is getting, rather than treating everyone as equal. (Throwing out Ellie Dela Cruz when he has a great jump, it ends up being a lot harder than throwing out Hunter Renfro on the back of a double theft attempt.)
After a strong start to the season with the bat, Bailey’s offense has waned over the last six weeks, leaving him with a .233/.299/.344 slash on the season. That might make Diaz look offensive at the very least, but it should be noted that Diaz himself has also been on a roll lately. A calf strain cost Diaz three weeks in June, and between his return and his eventual DFA, he hit just .208/.243/.264 in 111 plate appearances.
That said, Diaz has experience putting the ball in play and providing offense that, while below league average, is generally solid compared to other catchers (who tend to be below-average hitters in general, in large part due to the position). physical requirements). And given the domestic alternatives with Bale on the shelf, it stands to reason that the Giants would be interested in betting on that record as they look to stay afloat in the hotly contested chase for the final Wild Card spot in the nationals. League. The Braves currently hold the third Wild Card spot, but they are only 2.5 games ahead of the Mets and 3.5 games ahead of the Giants.
