Padres Sign Former Division Rival to Minor League Contract: Report

J.P. Hoornstra | Aug 26, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Dakota Hudson (32) is pulled by manager Bud Black (10) as catcher Elias Diaz (35) looks on in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres are signing catcher Elias Diaz to a minor league contract, according to multiple reports Monday.

Freelancer Rafael Petit was first to report the news, which was subsequently confirmed by Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase:

The San Diego Padres are signing C Elías Díaz to a minor league contract, sources tell @ElExtrabase. @petitsports 1st mentioned about Díaz singing with San Diego.

— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) August 27, 2024

A longtime Rockies catcher, Diaz was the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 All-Star Game, but subsequently fell on tough times.

The 33-year-old from Venezuela originally signed as an international free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008. He debuted with the Pirates in 2015, and remained in Pittsburgh through 2019.

Diaz signed as a free agent with the Rockies in Jan. 2020. In a down year for offense at the catcher position, Diaz made the National League All-Star team a year ago on the strength of his nine home runs and 45 RBIs before the break. He was slashing .277/.328/.435.

Diaz's pinch-hit, two-run home run in the eighth inning against Felix Bautista lifted the NL to a 3-2 win — and lifted the unheralded catcher to an unlikely All-Star Game MVP award at Seattle's T-Mobile Park:

elias diaz in the nlcs vs the phillies pic.twitter.com/WIdfq5IWQt

— rai 🇵🇭 (@padsplswin) August 27, 2024

In 2024, Diaz was playing out the final year of a three-year, $14.5 million extension. Diaz was hitting .300 as recently as July 6, with an OPS above .800 as recently as June 30.

But when he was released following the promotion of Drew Romo on Aug. 16, Diaz was batting .270 with a .315 on-base percentage and .378 slugging percentage. The Rockies, the fifth-place team in the National League West, were going nowhere in a hurry and likely had little need for a veteran on an expiring contract.

According to Statcast, Diaz was an above-average framing catcher this season, worth three runs in total.

The Padres have been set at catcher this season between starter Luis Campusano and backup Kyle Higashioka. Brett Sullivan has caught only 37 innings as the team's third catcher, slashing .188/.235/.375 in seven games.

It's possible if not likely that Diaz supplants Sullivan on the Padres' depth chart — with a chance to earn a major league call-up in September, when rosters expand to 28.

For now, Diaz represents a low-risk depth move. Any added value he brings to the Padres between now and the end of the season — whenever that is — should be seen as a bonus.