The Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball introduced this week that they’ve signed former A’s infielder Jordan Diaz. Reviews out of Japan first emerged in November that the Buffaloes have been nearing a cope with the Colombian-born infielder, however the contract was not finalized till Wednesday.
Diaz, a right-handed hitter who spends most of his time between second and third base, appeared in 105 main league video games between 2022-23. The majority of these reps got here in ’23, when Diaz appeared in a bit greater than half of the crew’s video games. Diaz didn’t make a lot of an offensive impression, as he hit .227/.276/.358 throughout 344 journeys to the plate. The A’s optioned him to Triple-A to start final season. They designated him for project and outrighted him off the 40-man roster in the direction of the tip of Could.
The 24-year-old spent the remainder of the yr with the A’s prime minor league crew. He had a powerful season, hitting 22 homers with a .301/.362/.529 slash by means of 436 plate appearances. Diaz is as much as a .311/.363/.523 batting line over 724 journeys to the plate within the Pacific Coast League. That’s a hitter-friendly surroundings, after all, however Diaz has proven plus contact expertise with first rate energy at each minor league cease.
Quite than pursue one other minor league contract to remain in affiliated ball, Diaz will parlay his sturdy Triple-A numbers to a assured deal in Japan. He’s younger sufficient to draw MLB curiosity down the road if he performs nicely in opposition to NPB pitching.
