No, I think a .680 OPS would give some hope that he bounces back fully in 2026. His OPS was .620 after the first two months of the season, so finishing at .680 means improvement going forward. I obviously cannot prove it, but I think his OPS would already be over .700 if he had Yordan in the line up..... Even when the Astros traded for Walker, he was someone that you ideally sandwiched between two good hitters or you dropped down in the order. I know he has lots of pop but he never has hit for a high average or gotten on base a lot, he isn't what I would call a natural hitter. I personally would really like to see him get his OPS over .700%... he has come relatively close a few times before having a couple of 0 for 4 days.
Well they’re clearly now “over explaining” the situation in order to try and save face. Anybody reading between the lines can see that this is not a “run of the mill” injury and right now the biggest question is whether or not there’s a possibility of further damage with activity right now. If not… then it’s a (ducks for cover)… “pain tolerance” issue (and hopefully the injections/rest will help further that along). The one granular (can’t fake it) news that was here that should be encouraging is that MRI/imaging results show progress.
I think if he hits 25+ HR it will show his issue wasn’t declining physical ability, which gives hope he can have a full productive season next year. I agree he has been miscast with Houston since he signed; rather than touting him as a replacement for the offense Tucker or Bregman provided, he is like you said a guy you need hitting 5th between 2 lefthanded studs or otherwise hitting 7th.
In a true stacked line up, he should really hit 6th anyway. He isn't going to carry a team but he does a few things really well (home runs/glove) that make him pretty valuable.
Brian MacTaggert did an AMA on Reddit, one of the interesting comments he made was that there are people in Houston’s organization that are not a fan of Diaz and that he may not be the catcher long term. It makes me wonder if he is someone they might be willing to discuss in trade.
He struggles defensively but you have to give some credit for the way he is handling the pitching staff this year. I mean since Maldonaldo got the credit for it...it's only fair
if everyone in the lineup was healthy, i wouldn't mind. with all the injuries, team need him to be more than he is now.
With this pitching staff killing it so far (including the ones plucked from Managing Wendy's and McDonald's) you don't f with the catcher right now.
He's had a rough two years behind the plate. When he's hitting, it can be overlooked a little. Now, tough not to overlook. Caratini is more averagish right now. It would be better for Caratini to catch most games with Diaz fighting for PT a bat-first position.
can you link this? if they are planning to part ways with Diaz, that means they're really high on Walker Janek. I personally think parting ways with Diaz is a dumb idea. Keep him and train him to be a 1B if they don't think he's a good fit at catcher position.
