Diaz is a better DH/1st base than Lee is but I still think Lee is a better catcher than Diaz. I can imagine both being full time in the second half with Maldy as bench catcher / pitching coach.
Yes they will. Teams will line up to take him. He has plus plus "stuff", and the Astros will be paying him. Free lottery ticket
Picking up from waivers means they get that atrocious contract. See Verlander in 2017 on how he cleared waivers.
You are correct I forgot that part It's the part where nobody picks him up from waivers so the Astros pay him anyway and he is free to sign with any team and nearly every one will want him for MLB minimum. That's what I was thinking.
What? I thought Lee would be the one taking this spot. How is the world can Diaz and Maldy both play at the same time now? Unless Diaz is the primary catcher (yeah right) we won't have a catcher on the bench. I swear I am going to go ballistic if Diaz is relegated to backup catcher only now.
Diaz can still frequently DH. Worst case scenario you have to lose the DH for a few PA(and you can always use a PH to cover). Not ideal, but it's really a minor thing people make too much of. I think this is Brown forcing Dusty into a choice since Dusty refuses to play Diaz in the field.
I think this is Dana Brown's desperation to get some run production vs RHP. He has been trying to trade for a bat and nobody is willing. This team needs run production, especially vs RHP, very badly. FWIW Diaz has been great vs RHP so it's not about him. I don't think Dana let's Dusty reduce Yainer's playing time now. That means that Maldy has to sit more often and be that catcher on the bench. I'm hoping it is close to 50-50.
This might have made sense a month or two ago, but Dusty has been playing Diaz almost every day since Yordan went down.
But he has not played the field. Since Yordan was put on IL, Yainer has started 1 game at catcher, 1 game at 1B, and 8 games at DH. Between May 1st and Yordan's injury, Maldy started 68.5% of the games at catcher. Since then he has started 83.3% (10 of 12) Diaz's playing time has increased but his time at catcher has plummeted. In what world should a team struggling to score runs play Maldy more often when Yordan gets hurt? By getting rid of Salazar it forces Dusty to think of Diaz as a catcher, not a DH. And to get him in the lineup he is much more likely to sit Maldy
Sure - but this move doesn't really force Dusty to change anything there. He will still play Diaz at DH and Maldy at C if that's what he wants to do. But yeah, in general, Maldy catching 83% of the time isn't really sustainable.
I almost can't say this but I agree with Dusty on Diaz. Phhtueeey! That was unpleasant to admit. DH is the perfect place for him. His bat far outshines all his other attributes combined. He has a potential MVP bat and that is what I want at DH. I would never expect him to be my most studious player, or to execute a perfect squeeze play, or any one of a thousand other things I hope for in my primary catcher. Maldy is suffering through age related decline. For a catcher that means your legs are going. Your pop time is increasing. Your bat is slowing down. You are always playing hurt or tired or both. They say power is the last thing to go but that is untrue. While your body wears down you never stop learning and as long as you are able to add to what you know and put it into practice your value to your team just goes up. Diaz has a great bat.
I LOVE Diaz. We know Diaz has a great bat... for a catcher. It's not a great bat for a DH. Not unless he can start mixing in a 10% BB rate (or at least 8%). Right now at a 1% walk rate he's fine as a DH but not great. I need to see him walk 2x a week to believe he can be great with that bat when measured against other DH & 1B offense first last and always positions.
Unlike Maldy he is young. So long as he is not asked to concentrate on fielding the most difficult position there is to field those things will come to him. I just do not see him as a player whose joy comes from being a student of the game.
