Jose Reyes lasted just one at-bat before landing on the disabled list after the Toronto Blue Jays’ dreadful season opener. Many were expecting fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki to fill the void at shortstop, but the Blue Jays elected to bring up Jonathan Diaz instead.
So who exactly is this unheralded infielder, whose contract was selected from triple-A Buffalo Monday night?
Name: Jonathan Diaz
Born: Miami Beach, FL
Age: 28 (turns 29 on April 10)
Height: 5-foot-9, Weight: 155 lbs.
Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays should be very familiar with Diaz. He was originally selected by Toronto in the 12th round of the 2006 amateur draft out of North Carolina State and spent several seasons in the Jays’ minor-league system with Las Vegas (their former triple-A affiliate), New Hampshire, Dunedin, and Lansing. He spent the most time in double-A where he played 298 games with the Fisher Cats – one of the largest totals in franchise history.
Diaz became a free agent after the 2012 season and signed a minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox organization. The infield then played the majority of the year in triple-A Pawtucket where he hit .253/.358/.316/.675 with two home runs, 11 doubles, and 31 RBis in 101 games.
He did get his first dose of major-league action with Boston in 2013. Coincidentally, he made his major-league debut against the Blue Jays. He hit ninth and played third base while going 0-for-3 with a run scored in a 6-2 loss to Toronto. Diaz played just five major-league games last season with Boston and he did not register a hit.
After the 2013 season, Diaz returned to Toronto on another minor-league deal. He offers the Blue Jays positional versatility as he has routinely played second base, shortstop, and third base during his minor-league career. Diaz gives the Blue Jays another right-handed bat (as opposed to the left-handed hitting Kawasaki), as Toronto is scheduled to face Matt Moore and C.C. Sabathia in the upcoming week.
This spring, Diaz had just three hits, seven runs, five walks and four strikeouts in 24 at-bats. He registered a .125 batting average with a .276 on-base percentage and a .125 slugging percentage. So in simpler terms, don’t expect much offence from Diaz. In fact, Diaz’s career-high in home runs is two and his highest RBI output came in 2010 with just 43 while spending the season between New Hampshire and Las Vegas.
Diaz could spend time at shortstop and second base until Reyes is healthy. The team would ideally prefer to keep Goins at second but they have some options, as Maicer Izturis has experience playing both positions as well.
The official Blue Jays website confirmed Diaz will wear jersey No. 1 (Tony Fernandez’s old number) and he is expected to be with the team as soon as Tuesday night in Tampa Bay.