Diaz looking like catcher team needs
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. » Elias Diaz looked lost and confounded.
On May 12 a year ago, the Rockies catcher went 0-for-3 in the second game of a doubleheader against San Diego, dropping his average to .109. At that point, he had two doubles and zero home runs. In fact, he didn’t hit his first ball over the wall until June 16.
And still, the Rockies believed. Manager Bud Black and bench coach/catching coach Mike Redmond believed most of all.
“The talent was always in there, but he started digging a hole for himself,” Black recalled Thursday. “It just got to the point that he was trying so hard. But then he finally got a couple of base hits and hit the ball out of the park. When that happens you relax, and then the confidence starts to return.”
Colorado’s patience paid off, for the club and the 31-year-old catcher. Diaz ended up hitting 18 home runs, the most by a Rockies catcher since Wilin Rosario’s 21 in 2013. His average climbed to .246 and he finished with an OPS+ of 96.
He was rewarded with a threeyear, $14.5 million contract that covered his final season of arbitration eligibility and two years of free agency in 2023-24.
Diaz did not make a significant mechanical adjustment at the plate when he was slumping. It was more about his mindset, not gripping the bat so tight, and becoming a more selective hitter. He stopped chasing so many breaking balls and stopped trying to pull the ball all of the time.
“It was pretty simple. My mentality and confidence changed once I started hitting,” Diaz said. “I started telling myself to keep it simple.”
Diaz has made strides behind the plate, too, particularly with his pitch blocking and game-calling.
Ironically, it was in that May 12 game against the Padres, when his offense hit its lowest point, that Diaz made a play that sparked the Rockies’ defense. In the seventh inning of Colorado’s 3-2 victory, Diaz threw out Trent Grisham attempting to steal third base.
“That was a big spot in that game,” Black said. “That sort of jump-started him, too.”
Black believes that Diaz has perhaps the strongest arm of any catcher in the majors, and last season Diaz threw out 42.1% of runners trying to steal. Only Kansas City all-star Salvador Perez’s 43.8% was better for catchers with at least 60 attempts against them.
And, after such an ice-cold start, Diaz ended up making some Rockies history. He launched grand slams on Aug. 3 vs. the Cubs at Coors Field on Sept. 10 at Philadelphia, becoming the first Rockies catcher to have multiple grand slams in a season since Chris Iannetta hit two in 2009. From June 28-July 2, he homered in four consecutive games, the longest home run streak by a Rockies catcher in a single season in franchise history.
So what does he do for an encore?
“My goal is to be healthy for a full year and try to do my best every day to help the team win,” Diaz said.
roster moves. The Rockies continued to whittle their roster toward the opening-day number of 28. On Thursday, they optioned left-hander Ben Bowden and right-hander Jordan Sheffield to Triple-a Albuquerque.
The moves almost certainly open a spot for left-hander Ty Blach, the Regis Jesuit graduate, for a role in the bullpen as a long reliever or as a spot starter.
Colorado has 34 players remaining in big-league camp, including three non-roster players — catchers Carlos Perez and Brian Serven, as well as Blach. The Rockies currently have a full 40man roster.
Changing back. Left-handed starter Kyle Freeland’s experiment with a new, three-fingered changeup grip is over.
“I wanted to give it a try but I never got comfortable enough with it,” he said. “So I’m going back to my old grip, my old changeup. I think I throw it pretty well, so that’s what I’m going with.”