A look at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ September reinforcements

Mar 12, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz (66) catches a ball during a spring training baseball game at McKechnie Field. The Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Elias Diaz

Elias Diaz had a very eye-opening spring training that led many to believe that he may be closer to ready than we all thought. Showing good defense and a capable bat, Diaz had no shot at making the roster for Opening Day once it became clear that Francisco Cervelli was the real deal. On the strength of that spring training and a consistently good bat, Diaz has certainly earned the nod over the “other” catcher at Indianapolis in Tony Sanchez.

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How he can help – I can’t say it more succinctly than this: Diaz is a very good defensive catcher. Catching would-be base-stealers at a 30% clip, Diaz represents a significant boost over Cervelli (22%) and Chris Stewart (21%). Of course, these numbers must be taken with a grain of salt due to the slow-to-the-plate approach of several Pirates starters. Still, that is quite an improvement. Perhaps more than anything, Diaz can provide a break to Cervelli late in games when Stewart is to catch the next day. Offensively, Diaz is capable with a .271 AVG/.711 OPS to go along with 16 doubles.

How he can hurt – Is he capable though? That OPS has steadily declined over the past two years, both of which saw an OPS of .780 or better. Although his strikeout and walk rates are both good (14.1% and 8.8% respectively), he does not drive the ball, as a 1.34 GO/AO ratio (groundouts to air-outs) indicates. This may be of little concern to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who figure to use Diaz mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement along with the occasional start.

We conclude this look at the September reinforcements with a player who happens to play at the most crowded position at all.

Next: DJ Jaffy Jaff

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