ST. LOUIS — The San Diego Padres have agreed to a minor-league deal with Elias Díaz, a league source confirmed Monday, adding a veteran catching option as San Diego approaches the final month of the regular season. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base first reported the news of Díaz’s agreement with the Padres.
Díaz, 33, was released on Aug. 16, two days after the Colorado Rockies placed him on outright waivers amid an ongoing youth movement. Díaz, the MVP of the 2023 All-Star Game, had hit .270 with five home runs and a .693 OPS in 84 games this season.
Because he is joining a new organization before Sept. 1, Díaz will be eligible to play in the postseason. The Padres entered Monday’s series opener in St. Louis with a roughly 95 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs, and have benefited from a career year from backup-turned-primary catcher Kyle Higashioka. Meanwhile, Luis Campusano has lost playing time to Higashioka while supplying a .647 OPS and residing near the bottom of the league in various catching metrics.
Díaz could bring a boost to San Diego’s big-league depth at the position. Statcast rates him as above average this year at framing and throwing out base runners on steal attempts. If the Padres call him up at any point, they would pay him the prorated portion of the $740,000 league minimum; Díaz, who is nearing the end of a three-year, $14.5 million contract, is still guaranteed the remainder of his $6 million salary from the Rockies.
THAT’S OUR ALL-STAR!!! pic.twitter.com/pAAmiKxv51
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 12, 2023
In 2023, Díaz finished with 14 home runs and a .725 OPS. He hit a two-run home run in the All-Star Game and became the first All-Star MVP in Rockies history. He was again a productive hitter for parts of this season, logging a .795 OPS through June 9, but he subsequently spent time on the injured list with a left calf strain and missed several games after returning because of a right calf strain. In his final 28 games with Colorado, Díaz logged a .507 OPS and did not homer.
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Still, the Padres at some point could deem him a better backup option than Campusano, who has a .456 OPS in August. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Díaz recently declined to pursue an opportunity with the Giants because they indicated they couldn’t commit to keeping him on their major-league roster after starting catcher Patrick Bailey’s eventual return from injury.
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(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)
