When the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed him from the Miami Marlins in late November, Lewin Diaz acquired a number of messages wishing him the very best of luck together with his new group and alternative. They flooded in once more two weeks later, when the Orioles grabbed him on waivers after the Pirates let him go, too.
There have been no such messages when the 26-year-old first baseman made his approach to his fourth crew in 5 weeks, traded to Atlanta after the Orioles additionally designated him for task. It took two extra DFAs for Díaz to lastly attain a standstill. Within a month of first designating Díaz, the Orioles reclaimed him from the Braves and designated him for task him as soon as extra earlier than he finally cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.
It meant Díaz spent the ultimate month of the offseason off a 40-man roster, however in some methods, the top of his odyssey was a much bigger aid.
“I was to the point where I was like, ‘You know what, hopefully, I just get to stay here and be done with this process finally and start to get to work pretty soon,’” Díaz mentioned by way of Orioles interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Obviously, it was very complicated, a lot of movement. It’s something that I’ve never been through my career. It was a lot going on, to say the least. But towards the end of it, I was like, ‘OK, now it’s gonna slow down, for sure.’”
Designated for task 5 occasions, claimed 3 times and traded as soon as all between mid-November and mid-January, Díaz is now among the many assortment of candidates within the Orioles’ spring coaching camp to be their backup first baseman. In 112 video games with the Marlins over the previous three years, he hit .181 with 13 house runs and a .567 OPS from the left facet; at Triple-A, he’s hit 39 house runs and slugged .504 over two seasons. During his time within the majors, he has rated as a robust defender, performing positively in outs about common and defensive runs saved.
Díaz may need probably the most defensive upside of the Orioles’ deep group of candidates to enrich Ryan Mountcastle. He’s considered one of 5 nonroster invitees within the combine, with Curtis Terry being the one right-handed hitter in a gaggle that additionally consists of Ryan O’Hearn, Franchy Cordero and Josh Lester. Catchers Adley Rutschman and James McCann might be within the combine, in addition to outfielder Anthony Santander and second baseman Terrin Vavra.
“I think everything happens for a reason, and I’m here for a reason now,” Díaz mentioned. “I think that good things are gonna come out of this.”
His spouse, Selenia Calicchio, delivered that message to him persistently all through the offseason, particularly as bouncing from one group to a different started to frustrate Díaz. He was within the Dominican Republic taking part in winter ball, an expertise he mentioned was his “refuge” all through the flurry of transactions. As others stopped reaching out with every new transfer — “They were like, ‘You know what, maybe we feel bad for him,’” he mentioned with a smile — Calicchio continued to remind Díaz a constructive final result was nonetheless potential.
“She would call me and tell me, ‘Things happen for a reason. You’ve just got to stay strong and get through it. Your time will come, so just stay patient through it,’” Díaz mentioned. “I was like, ‘I’m tired. I’m tired with this process. I can’t wait to get [it] over,’ and she was like, ‘You gotta keep going. You’re gonna get through it very soon.’”
On Jan. 5, the Orioles claimed Díaz for the second time in little over a month. On. Jan. 11, they designated him for task for the second in three weeks. On Jan. 17, Díaz’s voyage finally got here to an finish, when not one of the different 29 groups determined to say him and he formally settled into Baltimore’s group.
To supervisor Brandon Hyde, Diaz’s circumstances have been harking back to Hanser Alberto, who throughout 2019 spring coaching flew from Florida to Arizona and again when the Orioles designated him for task earlier than reclaiming him after the San Francisco Giants put him on waivers. Alberto ended up as a preferred participant on the 2019 and 2020 Orioles, exhibiting the vacation spot can justify the journey.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far,” Díaz mentioned. “I think that if I just continue to do good things and go about my work in a good way, then good things are gonna come out of it.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com