The Rockies positioned veteran catcher Elias Diaz on waivers Wednesday afternoon, experiences Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The method might be resolved on Friday. Diaz is eligible to play whereas he’s on waivers, although that’s immaterial with Colorado having a time without work Thursday.
It’s doable (however not assured) that this marks the top of his four-plus 12 months stint in Denver. Waivers are irrevocable, so the Rockies can’t retract the position if one other crew makes a declare. If he goes unclaimed, the Rox might merely retain him on the MLB roster for the final six weeks of the season.
Colorado reportedly expressed openness to shifting Diaz earlier than the commerce deadline. The New York Put up’s Jon Heyman wrote on the time that the Rox weren’t planning to discover one other extension with the upcoming free agent. For the reason that Rox are out of playoff competition, there was little purpose for them to not attempt to get some type of younger expertise in return. Rosenthal writes that the Rockies didn’t discover any crew with vital curiosity in a commerce, although, with Colorado in the end holding him previous the deadline.
There’s not any probability for the Rockies to get something in return for Diaz. MLB did away with the previous August revocable waiver commerce system again in 2019. Any participant who has been on a 40-man roster in the course of the season can’t be traded after the deadline. The one profit to Colorado in inserting Diaz on waivers is feasible value financial savings.
The 33-year-old catcher is taking part in this 12 months on a $6M wage. There’ll be somewhat over $1.4M to be paid out between Friday and the top of the season. A claiming crew would take that total sum off Colorado’s books. Groups can’t negotiate with the Rockies to pay down a portion of the remaining cash. A waiver acquisition is an all or nothing transfer. Diaz can be eligible for postseason play if one other membership put in a declare since he’d be of their group earlier than the beginning of September.
Diaz had one of the best season of his profession in 2023. He related on 14 homers with a .267/.316/.409 slash line over a career-high 526 plate appearances. Diaz popped one other dwelling run within the All-Star Recreation and picked up the Midsummer Basic’s MVP award. His offensive manufacturing has taken a step again this season, as he’s hitting .270/.315/.378 over 84 contests. That’s nonetheless cheap manufacturing for a No. 2 catcher and Diaz has had a robust 12 months defensively. He has lower down almost 28% of stolen base makes an attempt and has barely above-average pitch framing grades from Statcast.
Golf equipment are usually reluctant to amass catchers midseason — Danny Jansen and Carson Kelly have been the one backstops traded on the deadline — due to the problem of shortly studying a brand new pitching employees’s strengths and weaknesses. Nonetheless, Diaz’s manufacturing this season can be an improve on what some groups have gotten out of their backup choices.
Waiver precedence is inverse order of the standings with out regard to American or Nationwide League. The White Sox have the highest precedence, adopted by the Marlins. Neither crew goes to place in a declare, since there’s no incentive for them to tackle the wage of an impending free agent.
The Cubs, who’re 5.5 video games out of the ultimate wild-card spot within the NL, are counting on a catching tandem of Miguel Amaya and Tomas Nido. Public estimates have them proper on the border of the luxurious tax threshold, although. It’s onerous to imagine they’d declare Diaz for a really lengthy shot playoff push if doing so moved them previous that line. The Rays have fallen 6.5 again of a wild-card spot and won’t take into account a declare worthwhile. The Mariners, Padres and Diamondbacks are somewhat additional down the waiver order however might be potential suits.
A declare would enable Diaz to take part in a playoff race whereas shaving a bit of cash from Colorado’s books. It’d presumably set the stage for the Rox to take their first take a look at prospect Drew Romo, whom they view because the catcher of the longer term. They’ll want so as to add Romo to the 40-man roster to maintain him out of the Rule 5 draft by subsequent offseason. The thirty fifth general decide within the 2020 draft, Romo is hitting .297/.339/.499 this 12 months with Triple-A Albuquerque.
