The Braves have acquired first baseman Lewin Díaz from the Orioles for cash, according to announcements from both teams. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count jumps to 39.
Díaz has bounced around the league in the past few weeks. Designated for assignment by the Marlins in advance of the deadline to add prospects to the 40-man to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft, Díaz has moved from the Pirates to the Orioles on successive waiver claims. Baltimore took him off their roster yesterday upon signing Mychal Givens, and his stint in the organization proves exceptionally brief.
Atlanta is near the bottom of the waiver order, so they jumped the line by sending some cash to Baltimore. In the process, they’ll add a player who’s clearly of interest to a few teams around the league. Díaz hasn’t managed much of an MLB track record, but he’s shown enough as a minor leaguer to have some appeal to clubs.
A left-handed hitting first baseman, he’s managed just a .181/.227/.340 line in 112 MLB games with Miami. Díaz took a personal-high 174 trips to the plate in 2022, posting a .169/.224/.288 slash with a 31% strikeout rate. He showed better during a more extended stretch at Triple-A Jacksonville, hitting .252/.323/.492 with 19 home runs and a 20.4% strikeout percentage across 368 plate appearances.
An aggressive offensive approach has given Díaz problems to this stage of his MLB career. He was a quality prospect for an extended stretch in the Miami farm system, though, with evaluators praising his power upside and defensive acumen. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have loved his glovework during his 753 2/3 MLB innings to date. He’s exclusively a first baseman, so despite the quality of his defense, he’ll need the bat to carry him if he’s to hold a roster spot. Atlanta obviously has Matt Olson entrenched at the position; Díaz will try to carve out a depth role behind him.
The 26-year-old is out of minor league option years. If the Braves carry him on their 40-man roster for the rest of the offseason, they’ll have to keep him in the majors or again expose him to other teams. It’s possible Atlanta tries to sneak him through waivers at some point before Spring Training, though no team has yet been successful in that attempt.
Take that, Mr. Cohen
“Guys, I promise we’re rich too”
The Braves’ farm is thin. Every incremental improvement benefits the team.
Cope
I’ve noticed that idiot Gen Z of whole use the word “Cope” like you just did pretty often like it’s some mix drop insult. Why?
Geez, spell check ruined that one.
Gen Z uses that word like a mic drop insult and it just makes them look dumber than everyone already thinks they are. Why do you use it?
He saw it on twitter enough to think it actually means what he thinks it means.
He’s a decent AAA power hitter. He can be a LH hitter off the bench, maybe LF?
No just no. He is nothing more then filling in the minor league system. This guys SUCKS
Idk I think he has a lot more raw talent than his statistics have shown. Now, does that mean he’ll ever figure it out? Or will be be one of those guys that never quite clicks? Either is certainly possible… but he has the natural ability and enough periods of minor league success to be a potential late bloomer.
Clearly he has not been brought in as minor league depth as he is out of options! He’ll be on another team before he hits the minors again.
He’s a quality 1B but plays no other position.
He can’t go to Gwinnett unless he’s subjected to waivers first.
One day I wish every team would come together to execute a 30-team trade. Even if you’re just swapping career minor leaguers, it would be fun.
Man, I’m really going to miss that guy.
He was really the heart and soul of the team.
What’s the record amount of times a guy has been moved in the off-season? He started the off-season with the Marlins, then got claimed by the Pirates, then by the Orioles, and now the Braves. If the Braves trade/DFA him and he lands with another team, he’ll have gone through over 15% of Major League teams in less than three months.
162.
As a Braves fan, my hope is that he still has minor league options. I believe that he has one left. He doesn’t strike me as the type of player who deserves to be on the 26 man roster.
As stated in the article. He does not.
Articles get updated with more info.
It was stated in the original article.
It wasn’t stated in the very first article, all it said was that the Braves traded cash for him, and then the famous more to come soon in bold text..
Braves just won the WS. Why even play the games??
So we can watch the Mets blow an even bigger division lead in 2023.
The World Series I just watched was won by the Astros.
Nick was being sarcastic.
Was he? Thought he got his years mixed up.
@41em dude, c’mon man.
“The 26-year-old is out of minor league option years. If the Braves carry him on their 40-man roster for the rest of the offseason, they’ll have to keep him in the majors or again expose him to other teams. It’s possible Atlanta tries to sneak him through waivers at some point before Spring Training, though no team has yet been successful in that attempt.“
Haha! Suck it Mets!!!
The Braves should immediately DFA him so another team can claim him. Rinse and repeat.
Wow?
I got to be honest this has been a lackluster off-season for AA. And he gets a break because of all the past deals he’s gotten players to sign but to lose Dansby and basically make a lateral move moving Contreras for Murphy and signing Morton to 20 mil a year seemed like a questionable deal. Hopefully I’m wrong but IMO we are a worse team at the moment.
$20M for Charlie was a little much. $15M should have been enough.
The Mets are paying Robinson Canó $22m next year. THAT seems excessive!
Yes, getting the 2nd best catcher in all of baseball is totally meh. He’s got at least 6 starting pitchers, a bullpen on par with the Astros and his entire core locked up for years to come. They and Houston have the best rosters in baseball. What more do you want that’s even remotely realistic? Dansby wanted to stay but the Cubs offered him a stupid amount of money. You can’t get mad at the Braves for that.
And even now, say Dansby hasn’t signed with the Cubs yet and San Francisco just lost/ booted Correa – do you have any idea the size of the check they’d have thrown at him?
It’s not a lateral move. Let them play the games and we’ll find out. You’re devaluing Murphy and Morton. Murphy had a higher OPS+ than Swanson in 3 of the last 4 years (and the only year he didn’t, Murphy was 98 OPS+ vs. Swanson’s 99 OPS+ in 2021), while being one of the best def C in the game. People weren’t noticing how vulnerable we were to SBs at how bad d’Arnaud/Contreras were at preventing SBs. Murphy has one of the best pop times and arms of a C. Put him with Fried (and his pick-off move) and no one is running on them. Morton came back from a broken fibula in ST 2022 (along with a condensed ST from the lockout) that had to have thrown him off. He’ll be much closer to his career numbers this year, with a normal offseason/ST.
Thank you! At last, someone that speaks FACT!
I like Charlie, but he’s 39. at this point, there’s no guarantee about his future performance.
Sure, but the same could be said about Scherzer/Verlander. I don’t think any one is relying on Morton to be the ace, but if he can get anywhere near his career numbers (for a 1 year deal) and make a postseason start (and somehow manage to avoid getting hit by a comebacker to an early exit) than we’re right as rain.
I’m not dissing Charlie, I just think $20M was a little rich.
Why you feel the need to voice this is beyond me.
When you have a large portion of the team locked up on long term deals, what do you really need to do?
Right…make trades to stock AAA teams just to prove to your ridiculous fan base that you’re coming into the office. Can’t wait for NYM to raise another “offseason winner” flag to fly high at Citi. $800M to become the oldest team in MLB. To quote Dumb & Dumber, “Don’t you go dyin’ on me now.”
Hi RunDMC: You can’t “stock AAA teams” with players who are out of options, like Diaz.
Try to be better than the Mets and the Phillies comes quickly to mind. Right now, Braves are the third dog in the NL East fight. I’m a Phillies fan, but you guys are gonna really miss Swanson. Maybe even more than missing Freddie!
Braves still won 101 without Freddie, no?
First off, I am not a Braves fan so no need to use the phrase “you guys” with me. Secondly, the Braves are the defending NL East champion, they are not the third dog in the fight. They have been better than the Mets and Phillies in the most recent season. Sure, the Mets and Phillies might have gotten bigger names this off season, but that is virtually meaningless.
No offense but I’m thinking you’re wrong. Yes, they lost Dansby but IMO the only loss is defensive if Grissom sticks at short all year. If he does I’d predict he will be just as good offensively as Dansby will be this year. But the team gained defensively behind the plate which will be more important with the new rules. Ozzie will be back as well which helps the D but offensively you’re simply trading Dansby for Ozzie off of the team that finished the season. The BP is better than it was at the end of the year, the potential of a healthy Soroka, and a full year of Strider in the rotation and Harris in center helps as well. But the biggest thing I think everyone is discounting is the potential of a fully healthy Acuna and I have complete confidence that will be the case. If so it’s like they picked up one of the top five players in the league and a legit 40/40 threat that they did not have all of last year. Much bigger pick up than Turner for the Phil’s or Correa for the Mets.
Grissom’s unacceptable defense will be magnified by the new shift rules. Don’t know why anyone believes that Wash helping him refine his ball handling (in New Orleans) is going to magically gift him w/the range he lacks to play competent ML middle infield defense. Murphy is a welcome upgrade at C, but claiming that defensive gains “behind the plate…will be more important with the new rules” isn’t the whole picture, imo. Correct that the 2 throw pickoff rule does increase the need for catchers to effectively control the run game. Also true that the shift rule change will make middle infielders range a larger issue due to them handling more chances than catchers will just throwing out base stealers. Grissom’s going to weaken the Braves pitching w/his sub optimal defense. More base hits, less double plays. Those proclaiming Grissom’s offense will be superior to Swanson’s going forward should consider stocking up on their favorite “crow sauce” and meat tenderizer. You’re going to be eating some tough bird if he continues to be over matched at the plate. Those first 54 at bats he had last year blinded a lot of fans to his weaknesses. His next 104 ML ab’s should have sobered you up. His horrific defense at 2B wasn’t the only reason he was promptly benched when Arcia returned from injury.
I believe Washington if he says he is ready.
Unless the Braves need a First Baseman at Gwinnett this will only be a pit stop on the Lewin Diaz MLB winter tour
They need a 1B at Gwinnett. Hence the trade.
Not sure when you jumped on the thread but as stated in the article since Diaz is OUT OF OPTIONS he won’t be doing ANYTHING at Gwinnett.
You’re right, got ahead of myself. Hope this guy is ready for ST.
They lost Dansby because of 25 mil per. He had a really good walk year. I’m good with the moves so far and can see the logic in it. Outside of JT, Murphy’s WAR is right there and a Gold Glove to boot at another premium postion. YES the SS position needs addressed and solidified but at 25 mil per I think AA did the right move by passing.
Interesting move, mainly because I think ATL might be legitimately believing he can contribute as part time DH/1B. right now DH is D’Arnaud who has had some solid seasons but really isn’t more than average unless also catching. They will still probably give him bulk of ABs but think Diaz has actual chance to earn roster spot in spring if still on roster (depending on future signings) most of time deals like this are 100% depth. May be case here too but I think ATL believes he could be more.
I’m seeing I am BY FAR the only one to feel this way. I will admit he very well could be a total bust. But the upside is a legitimate power threat from the left side. Granted his floor is, well his floor is what he’s been in MIA which I suppose kind of disproves my whole theory… obviously my theory is based on him putting the pieces together, not on past performance.
Nothing wrong with being a cult of one, Zanghi. However the queue to sign up for the Lewin Diaz fan club is short and undistinguished.
I mean give the guy some credit. He’s hit 52 HRs in around 880 ABs between AAA/ML the past 2 years while being shuffled between the 2!
That’s the case w Lewin, Nick Anderson, Hoy Park and Dennis Santana..
I don’t get this Diaz move though. Yes dude has tremendous pop. I remember watching him crush a ball against the Braves in Miami that I was like “Whoa”. He doesn’t make enough contact though and is the definition of swing and miss.
Good move. Can’t wait to see who gets him next.
Huge move for the Braves. This is going to separate them from the rest of the division. Just an incredible turn of events.
Diaz just was named MVP by Allied Van Lines. Miami to Pittsburgh to Baltimore to Atlanta in about thirty days. Vegas is posting short odds against him staying in Atlanta. Next stop? Maybe Cincinnati or the Giants?
Hopefully being tossed about like a sooty rag doll won’t tarnish his reputation.
Diaz probably has not moved even once.
39 spots filled,
Surely, they saved the best for last.
Atlanta is gonna get Reynolds befor spring training
They have been to quiet this off-season
PIT taking IOUs or is AA finally going to release the golden shower tapes he has on Cherington?
Classy. Normally I’d have to go to a Yankees article for such a gem
I think it would take Grissom, Anderson and a couple of our other best pitching prospects, at a minimum. Even then it might not be enough.
Welp, this is a lesson to me to not say how bad a guy is when he was DFA from the freaking orioles.
I understand there is no risk involved, but surely there are better moves that can be made that have no risk. He’s really bad
We couldn’t have picked a better picture on this article for this guy? Braves select a guy who’s jumped from several teams in his career and our first view of this person is from the bench waving? Awesome…. Makes me really feel good about AA and his baby steps toward the luxury tax we were going to smash through.
2 of the 3 outfielder positions locked up long term. 1st,2nd,3rd locked up long term. Option for 2024 for Travis if they go that route. 3 yrs control over Murphy. AA has done a hell of job.
More like Leavin’ Diaz.
“our first view of this person is from the bench waving?” lol well thats one way to interpret the picture I guess, its not the right way, but it is one way
I think I would have preferred signing Hosmer at league minimum as a backup over this guy.
Thats a dumb idea. Hosmer is done
Diaz is on the off season tour of North America. Just how many teams can he land on without ever taking the field?