Lewin Díaz
Diaz with the Fort Myers Miracle
Washington Nationals
First baseman
Born: (1996-11-19) November 19, 1996
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 15, 2020, for the Miami Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.181
Home runs13
Runs batted in27
Teams

Lewin José Díaz (born November 19, 1996) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman in the Washington Nationals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins.

Career

Minnesota Twins

Díaz signed with the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent on November 21, 2013.[1] He played for the DSL Twins in 2014, hitting .257/.385/.451 with 5 home runs and 27 RBI.[2] He split the 2015 season between the GCL Twins and the Elizabethton Twins, hitting a combined .233/.322/.371 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI.[2] He returned to Elizabethton in 2016, and hit .310/.353/.575 with 9 home runs and 37 RBI.[2] He played for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2017, hitting .292/.329/.444 with 12 home runs and 68 RBI. He spent the 2018 season with the Fort Myers Miracle, hitting .224/.255/.344 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI.[2] He opened the 2019 season back with Fort Myers, before being promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on June 19. Between the two teams, he hit a combined .294/.336/.553 with 19 home runs and 62 RBI.[3]

Miami Marlins

On July 27, 2019, the Twins traded Díaz to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Sergio Romo, Chris Vallimont, and a player to be named later.[4][5] He was assigned to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp following the trade.[4] Over 31 games with Jacksonville, he batted .200 with eight home runs. On November 20, 2019, the Marlins added Díaz to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[6]

On August 15, 2020, Díaz was promoted to the major leagues. He made his debut that day against the Atlanta Braves and got his first major league hit in his only at-bat against Mark Melancon.[7] He finished his rookie campaign after playing in 14 games and hitting .154/.195/.205 with three RBI. In 2021, Díaz played in 40 games and batted .205/.242/.451 with 8 home runs and 13 RBI.[8]

In 2022, Díaz played in a career–high 58 games for Miami, hitting .169/.224/.288 with 5 home runs and 11 RBI.[9] On November 15, 2022, Díaz was designated for assignment by the Marlins.[10]

Baltimore Orioles

On November 22, 2022, Díaz was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[11] On November 30, he was designated for assignment after the signing of Carlos Santana was made official.[12] On December 2, Díaz was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.[13] Following the signing of Mychal Givens, he was designated for assignment on December 21.[14] On December 22, Díaz was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for cash considerations.[15] On December 28, the Braves designated Díaz for assignment.[16]

On January 5, 2023, Díaz was again claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.[17] He was again designated for assignment by the Orioles on January 11 after the team traded for Darwinzon Hernández.[18] On January 17, Díaz cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.[19] In 118 games for Norfolk, he batted .268/.362/.442 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI. Díaz elected free agency following the season on November 6.[20]

Washington Nationals

On December 22, 2023, Díaz signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals that included an invitation to spring training.[21]

Personal life

Díaz is married to Silenia Calicchio.[19][22]

References

  1. ↑ Rhett Bollinger (January 19, 2018). "Diaz named MLB's 9th-ranked 1B prospect". MLB.com. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Lewin Díaz Player Page". MLB.com. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  3. ↑ Betsy Helfand (July 27, 2019). "Twins acquire reliever Sergio Romo, two others for Lewin Diaz". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Jordan McPherson (July 28, 2019). "Who is Lewin Diaz, the new Miami Marlins prospect acquired in the Sergio Romo trade?". Miami Herald. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  5. ↑ Wells Desenbury (July 28, 2019). "Marlins acquire power-hitting prospect Lewin Diaz from Twins for reliever Sergio Romo". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  6. ↑ Jordan McPherson (November 20, 2019). "Marlins add top prospects eligible for Rule 5 draft to 40-man roster, DFA Wei-Yin Chen". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Lewin Diaz impresses in Miami Marlins debut; starts vs Braves". Miami Herald. August 16, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Lewin Diaz - Stats - Batting". fangraphs.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Lewin Diaz Stats & Scouting Report". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Miami Marlins trade with Tampa Bay Rays, DFA Lewin Diaz". Miami Herald. November 15, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Pirates claim first baseman Lewin Díaz off waivers from Miami". MLB.com. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Pirates DFA First Baseman Lewin Diaz". piratesprospects.com. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ Ruiz, Nathan (December 2, 2022). "Orioles improve first base depth with Lewin Díaz claim, Franchy Cordero minor league agreement". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Mychal Givens back with Orioles after agreeing to $5M deal". Toronto Sun. Associated Press. December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Orioles trade INF Lewin Diaz to Braves for cash". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Braves trade for veteran left-handed reliever Lucas Luetge". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Orioles DFA Ryan O'Hearn 2 days after trade, claim Lewin Díaz back". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ Rill, Jake (January 11, 2023). "O's get Darwinzon Hernandez in trade with Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Rill, Jake (February 23, 2023). "After chaotic offseason, Díaz eyes O's roster spot". MLB.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023. But Díaz's wife, Silenia Calicchio, continued to offer support. As the 26-year-old first baseman grew frustrated amid the uncertainty of where his baseball career was headed -- all unfolding while he was in the Dominican Republic playing for Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Winter League -- she was there to provide comfort. "She would call me and tell me, 'Things happen for a reason. You've just got to stay strong and get through it, and you know your time will come,'" Díaz said. After going from the Marlins to the Pirates to the Orioles to the Braves and then back to Baltimore, Díaz received clarity on Jan. 17. Six days after getting DFA'd by the O's, he cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
  20. ↑ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Nationals' Lewin Díaz: Lands NRI from Nationals". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  22. ↑ Ruiz, Nathan (February 22, 2023). "After being designated for assignment 5 times this offseason, Lewin Díaz grateful to settle in with Orioles". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 26, 2023. His wife, Selenia Calicchio, delivered that message to him consistently throughout the offseason, especially as bouncing from one organization to another began to frustrate Díaz. He was in the Dominican Republic playing winter ball, an experience he said was his "refuge" throughout the flurry of transactions. As others stopped reaching out with each new move — "They were like, 'You know what, maybe we feel bad for him,'" he said with a smile — Calicchio continued to remind Díaz a positive outcome was still possible. Alternate URL
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