Juan Diaz

From SoSH

Juan Diaz

Born:	Tuesday Feb 19 1974
Birthplace:	San Jose, Cuba
Hometown:
Height:	6 ' 2
Weight:	228
Bats:	Right
Throws:	Right
Drafted:	1996: signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers
College:	None
High School:
Other Teams:	no major league time
Years with Boston:	2002

Juan Carlos Diaz, a left-handed power-hitting first baseman, signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in March of 2000. After spending two seasons in Sarasota and Pawtucket, Diaz was called up to Boston during the 2002 season. He had two hits (a double and a home run) and a walk in eight plate appearances with the Sox before being released the following spring.

1 Overall Career
2 Diaz's Moments in the Sun
3 Trivia
4 Transactions
5 External Links

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Overall Career

In 1996, Juan Diaz left his native country of Cuba, with the encouragement of the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, after obtaining a one-month visa to visit the Dominican Republic. Diaz said that defecting from Cuba to play baseball was something he wanted badly to do, but "it is hard being away. I miss my family." After settling in Santo Domingo, Diaz signed with the Dodgers and worked his way through their farm system (from rookie league in the Dominican through Double-A San Antonio).

Suddenly, at age 23 (in 1999), his promising career came to a halt. The commissioner's office voided his contract, ruling that the Dodgers had illegally signed him by holding a secret tryout in Cuba and aiding in his defection. The Dodgers were fined and prohibited from re-signing him, and Diaz was suddenly a free agent. Juan Diaz signed with the Boston Red Sox for the 2000 season. Juan turned some heads during his first season in the Red Sox organization, hitting 28 homers and collecting 82 RBI in 77 games (at High-A Sarasota, Double-A Trenton, and Triple-A Pawtucket). However, he was sidelined for the second half of the season after fracturing his ankle sliding into second base.

The next two seasons saw Diaz continue to display prodigious power, but his Pawtucket batting lines of .269/.316/.552 (in 2001) and .260/.305/.450 (in 2002) weren't strong enough to cement him as Boston's first baseman (or DH) of the future. He did get called up to Boston during the 2002 season, but played in only four games. During his major league debut, on June 12, 2002, he had one hit (a double) in 4 at-bats against Colorado. On June 23, he would hit his only major league home run (against, ironically, the Dodgers) while pinch-hitting for pitcher Darren Oliver at Dodger Stadium. In total, Diaz compiled just those two hits in seven at-bats (spanning 4 games) for Boston, contributing 2 runs, 2 RBI, and 1 walk along with 2 strikeouts.

In the spring of 2003, Juan Diaz was released by the Red Sox, and he signed with the Baltimore Orioles. In Double-A Bowie, Juan smacked 14 homers in 68 games, batting .274/.341/.532, but it wasn't enough to avoid being released at the end of the season.

Diaz signed with the Minnesota Twins organization for the 2004 season, but visa problems prevented him from entering the United States until mid-June of that season. (Unless a baeball player is on the 40-man roster, he has to petition each year for a work visa, hoping to be approved.) After finally arriving in the U.S., he served as the designated hitter for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, batting .270/.346/.547 in 39 games. However, he was not allowed to accompany the Red Wings on trips to Ottawa -- entering Canada would violate his visa. On August 7, Diaz once again suffered an injury, breaking his left fibula when he tripped over second base, and he was out for the rest of the season.

The winter of 2004 found him once again searching for a new club after the Twins decided that the chronic visa problems were too difficult to deal with: farm director Jim Rantz commented, "We're not gonna go through that again." However, his performance as an All-Star first baseman in the Dominican Winter League convinced the St. Louis Cardinals to take a chance on him. He returned to the Double-A level in 2005 and batted an impressive .308/.374/.571 in 57 games for Springfield. The Cardinals liked what they saw enough to retain his services for the 2006 season, but he struggled in Triple-A Memphis, batting .229/.302/.479 (with 11 hits and 11 strikeouts) in just 13 games, and was released on April 22, 2006.

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Diaz's Moments in the Sun

Diaz made his major league debut on June 12, 2002, going 1 for 4 with a double.
Diaz hit his first (and only) major league home run on June 23, 2002 against the L.A. Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

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Trivia

Diaz was nicknamed "Big Thunder" by Grady Little during his callup in 2002. "He called me that because I carry too much weight, but I'm fast for my size," Diaz said, laughing.

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