The Caesars have been interested in Aledmys Diaz since the day he signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. After rumors of a larger contract, he signed with the Cards last February for four years and $8 million guaranteed. The terms of the contract paid Diaz the league minimum in 2015, $1.5 million this year, and $2 million in 2016 and 2017. This reflects the Cards philosophy of aligning pay with expectations - something they also did in Jhonny Peralta's contract. Peralta also signed with the team in the 2014 offseason and will receive $30.5 million in the first two years of his contract and only $22.5 million in the final two. This reflects an organizational belief that he will have to move off of shortstop and therefore be less valuable. Similarly, Diaz was never projected to contribute in 2014 and the team has always viewed him as a potential contributor in 2015 and beyond.
The Tigers were the high bidder for Diaz's BSL services and signed him to a three year contract worth 20 points. The contract paid Diaz $5.45 million last year and only owes him just over $4 million the next two seasons. Most importantly, because Diaz did not accumulate any service time in 2015, he'll fall under Super 2 status in 2017, capping his salary at $1.3625 million. The Tigers have one of the deepest rosters in BSL and found themselves in a roster crunch this offseason, so they designated Diaz for assignment on February 6th. The Caesars immediately reached out to discuss a possible trade, but the Tigers wanted to see if anyone would claim Diaz and take on his entire salary. Ultimately, no other team claimed him and he was outrighted from the 40 man roster a week later.
After a series of larger discussions, the Caesars reached an agreement to acquire Diaz in exchange for Dodgers' pitching prospect Zachary Bird. The Caesars will only be responsible for $250,000 of Diaz's salary in each of his two remaining guaranteed years - essentially the equivalent to a late round draft bonus. Bird was originally drafted by the Caesars in the 2013 FYPD and a 9th round pick by the Dodgers out of high school in 2012. He's an athletic, projectable pitcher with a huge fastball, but has struggled with his command and developing secondary pitches. Baseball America ranked him 19th in the Dodgers organization and noted that he found success in August when he pitched out of the stretch exclusively. He seems ticketed for the bullpen and Baseball Prospectus noted that was the overall industry opinion and one of the reasons he did not make their list of Dodgers prospects. Keith Law was a little more positive, ranking Bird 10th in the Dodgers organization, but also noted that if he does not improve his delivery, he'll be a high-velocity reliever.
Diaz only played 47 games last year and it was the first time he's played organized baseball in two years. He experienced a number of injuries due to a lack of strength and spent time building up his shoulder strength to handle the demands of a professional season. When he played, he performed well, especially when the layoff is considered. Overall he hit .273/.324/.431. He brought an aggressive approach to the plate and only walked in 5% of his PAs while striking out nearly 19% of the time, but he also showed good power. Defensively, he is capable at SS, but probably is not good enough to play everyday. The team is very bullish on Diaz this year as he has worked hard to get in shape. Hitting coach John Mabry said Diaz is a player to watch in MLB Spring Training. Baseball Prospectus noted that the industry in general is also optimistic and wants to see him stay on the field for a full season. A healthy Diaz could contribute at the MLB level as early as this summer. He has a lot of upside and even a worst case scenario seems to be a bench role at the MLB level thanks to his versatility and power.
This minor trade will likely end up being exactly that. Both teams exchanged flawed players who still have some upside. The Caesars view Bird as a reliever who is two years away from contributing, while Diaz should have value this season and has a higher chance of contributing as a regular at some point in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment