http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...cle_756982c5-fa80-5a43-89a2-3268d01899b9.html
CARDS SS
[h=1]Looking for 'big splash,' Cards sign Cuban shortstop Diaz[/h]
9 minutes ago • By Derrick Goold • [email]dgoold@post-dispatch.com[/email]
<!--DatelineBoldStart-->VIERA, Fla. • The Cardinals had invested more than a year in their attempt to not only scout Cuban infielder Aledmys Diaz in person but also get a feel for the level of his competition and countrymen, so it wasn’t a surprise his private workout for the club last month drew a crowd.
This wasn’t huddling over a laptop to watch video snippets, as some did.
They didn’t need a passport to see him.
This was Diaz, the foreign talent, in their backyard.
Even the pitching coach came to watch, manager Mike Matheny joked.
“It’s exciting when you see new territory that the organization is going into or looking into,” said Matheny, who also attended. “You realize there have been some big splashes when you realize what a (Yasiel) Puig has done and some of these other young (Cuban) players. You want to see what this other market looks like and how we compare that with what we have. … We wanted to see what he looked like for ourselves.”
They’ll have plenty time to do that now.
The Cardinals announced Sunday morning that they had reached a four-year, major-league deal with Diaz, a 23-year-old shortstop. The financial terms of the deal were not immediately known. A club source said shortly after Diaz’s workout on Feb. 19 that the likely market for the infielder would be between $15 million and $20 million or, if it went higher, pushed out of the club’s reach.
Wherever the salary settles, the signing of Diaz is a landmark moment for the Cardinals. His will be the richest contract ever from the Cardinals for an international free agent or amateur, signaling their intent to reach beyond the Latin America amateur market they’ve cultivated.
General manager John Mozeliak called Diaz’s contract “a significant benchmark.”
He declined further comment.
The club will introduce Diaz at a news conference today at Roger Dean Stadium, and Diaz is expected to participate in the club’s workout. It has been more than a year since he played in a competitive game, though Matheny said he wants him in the lineup “very soon.”
“We’re going to make sure with the medical staff – I don’t want to throw him into something when he’s not prepared,” Matheny said. “He’s going to get in games very soon, depending on what the feedback is. If he’s ready to go, then we’ll see what he looks like. We want to see him (play).”
Diaz’s signing comes a day after the Cardinals announced a $52 million extension for third baseman Matt Carpenter and months after they signed shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million contract. The Cardinals’ interest in Diaz pre-dates both of those negotiations. As far back as January 2013, the Cardinals intended to send at least one front-office official to a workout that involved Diaz and another Cuban defector. Diaz was the player the Cardinals wanted to see.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound infielder was born in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba, and he joined the Cuban national team at 17. Late in 2012, he defected to Mexico City to become a free agent, but because he initially falsified his age, Major League Baseball suspended him a year before he could sign. He hit the open market less than three weeks ago.
Diaz last played in 2012 and hit .315 with 12 homers in 270 at-bats for Los Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban professional league. It’s the same league Puig, Oakland’s Home Run Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes and Cincinnati lefty Aroldis Chapman played in before defecting.
Diaz has a lively bat, and scouts have said he could play shortstop, second base or third base with the potential to be a standout righthanded hitter. The Cardinals worked him out at shortstop last month. His agent has suggested that Diaz is ready to break spring with a major-league camp, though he could start the season with an everyday player’s priority in the minors just to accumulate the experience lost to his suspension. Diaz fills the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, and he would have to be optioned to the minors.
Diaz offers the Cardinals potential depth behind Peralta and perhaps another challenger at second base to rookie Kolten Wong. The Cardinals’ current backups for Peralta are Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma, who split starts at short late last season.
“We believe this is someone who could help us in the future,” Matheny said.
Diaz held a workout for several teams in Arizona last month. A scout who attended remarked that Diaz, who had the long layoff from game play, faced live pitching in the workout to show his timing hadn’t faltered. He held a private workout for several teams, including the New York Yankees, in February and, according to MLB.com, with the Cubs last week.
Matheny said he was impressed with Diaz’s polish in the private workout.
“He’s had a lot of repetitions in this game,” Matheny said. “You could tell. He’s not just one of the raw talents. He’s a guy who has been well-taught. This kid looks like he understands the game.”
After an 11-1 loss to Washington on Sunday at Space Coast Stadium, Matheny described with a scout’s eye what Diaz showed: clean fielding, different arm slot but good power on his throws, and “the ball jumped off his bat.”
He added that Diaz’s walk and mannerisms were similar to Yankee captain Derek Jeter’s.
“I think he’s watched some video,” Matheny said.
Until that afternoon at the Roger Dean Stadium, video is all Matheny had seen of Diaz. The Cardinals had some at the winter meetings in 2012 and were tossing Diaz’s name around as a possible signing, the pioneer for their Cuban interest. The Cardinals had been leery of the bidding wars for Chapman and Puig and the posting system used for players from the Asian pro leagues. When Cespedes hit the open market, the Cardinals contrasted his availability with Carlos Beltran’s and decided they just had more comfort with Beltran’s tangible track record. But as they scouted Diaz, they grew their database and their understanding of the Cuban league, its players and the potential cost.
Mozeliak said this past December that he hoped by the end of the year to be in a position to make significant attempts to sign players in these “emerging markets.”
Three months later, Diaz will be in a Cardinals uniform.
Now they get to see what they have.
“I don’t tell any of our guys what they can and cannot do, and now he’s one of our guys,” Matheny said. “He looked like he had a lot of tools. Tools are tools. How can he refine (them)? It will be fun to watch him progress.”
CARDS SS
[h=1]Looking for 'big splash,' Cards sign Cuban shortstop Diaz[/h]
9 minutes ago • By Derrick Goold • [email]dgoold@post-dispatch.com[/email]
<!--DatelineBoldStart-->VIERA, Fla. • The Cardinals had invested more than a year in their attempt to not only scout Cuban infielder Aledmys Diaz in person but also get a feel for the level of his competition and countrymen, so it wasn’t a surprise his private workout for the club last month drew a crowd.
This wasn’t huddling over a laptop to watch video snippets, as some did.
They didn’t need a passport to see him.
This was Diaz, the foreign talent, in their backyard.
Even the pitching coach came to watch, manager Mike Matheny joked.
“It’s exciting when you see new territory that the organization is going into or looking into,” said Matheny, who also attended. “You realize there have been some big splashes when you realize what a (Yasiel) Puig has done and some of these other young (Cuban) players. You want to see what this other market looks like and how we compare that with what we have. … We wanted to see what he looked like for ourselves.”
They’ll have plenty time to do that now.
The Cardinals announced Sunday morning that they had reached a four-year, major-league deal with Diaz, a 23-year-old shortstop. The financial terms of the deal were not immediately known. A club source said shortly after Diaz’s workout on Feb. 19 that the likely market for the infielder would be between $15 million and $20 million or, if it went higher, pushed out of the club’s reach.
Wherever the salary settles, the signing of Diaz is a landmark moment for the Cardinals. His will be the richest contract ever from the Cardinals for an international free agent or amateur, signaling their intent to reach beyond the Latin America amateur market they’ve cultivated.
General manager John Mozeliak called Diaz’s contract “a significant benchmark.”
He declined further comment.
The club will introduce Diaz at a news conference today at Roger Dean Stadium, and Diaz is expected to participate in the club’s workout. It has been more than a year since he played in a competitive game, though Matheny said he wants him in the lineup “very soon.”
“We’re going to make sure with the medical staff – I don’t want to throw him into something when he’s not prepared,” Matheny said. “He’s going to get in games very soon, depending on what the feedback is. If he’s ready to go, then we’ll see what he looks like. We want to see him (play).”
Diaz’s signing comes a day after the Cardinals announced a $52 million extension for third baseman Matt Carpenter and months after they signed shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million contract. The Cardinals’ interest in Diaz pre-dates both of those negotiations. As far back as January 2013, the Cardinals intended to send at least one front-office official to a workout that involved Diaz and another Cuban defector. Diaz was the player the Cardinals wanted to see.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound infielder was born in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba, and he joined the Cuban national team at 17. Late in 2012, he defected to Mexico City to become a free agent, but because he initially falsified his age, Major League Baseball suspended him a year before he could sign. He hit the open market less than three weeks ago.
Diaz last played in 2012 and hit .315 with 12 homers in 270 at-bats for Los Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban professional league. It’s the same league Puig, Oakland’s Home Run Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes and Cincinnati lefty Aroldis Chapman played in before defecting.
Diaz has a lively bat, and scouts have said he could play shortstop, second base or third base with the potential to be a standout righthanded hitter. The Cardinals worked him out at shortstop last month. His agent has suggested that Diaz is ready to break spring with a major-league camp, though he could start the season with an everyday player’s priority in the minors just to accumulate the experience lost to his suspension. Diaz fills the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, and he would have to be optioned to the minors.
Diaz offers the Cardinals potential depth behind Peralta and perhaps another challenger at second base to rookie Kolten Wong. The Cardinals’ current backups for Peralta are Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma, who split starts at short late last season.
“We believe this is someone who could help us in the future,” Matheny said.
Diaz held a workout for several teams in Arizona last month. A scout who attended remarked that Diaz, who had the long layoff from game play, faced live pitching in the workout to show his timing hadn’t faltered. He held a private workout for several teams, including the New York Yankees, in February and, according to MLB.com, with the Cubs last week.
Matheny said he was impressed with Diaz’s polish in the private workout.
“He’s had a lot of repetitions in this game,” Matheny said. “You could tell. He’s not just one of the raw talents. He’s a guy who has been well-taught. This kid looks like he understands the game.”
After an 11-1 loss to Washington on Sunday at Space Coast Stadium, Matheny described with a scout’s eye what Diaz showed: clean fielding, different arm slot but good power on his throws, and “the ball jumped off his bat.”
He added that Diaz’s walk and mannerisms were similar to Yankee captain Derek Jeter’s.
“I think he’s watched some video,” Matheny said.
Until that afternoon at the Roger Dean Stadium, video is all Matheny had seen of Diaz. The Cardinals had some at the winter meetings in 2012 and were tossing Diaz’s name around as a possible signing, the pioneer for their Cuban interest. The Cardinals had been leery of the bidding wars for Chapman and Puig and the posting system used for players from the Asian pro leagues. When Cespedes hit the open market, the Cardinals contrasted his availability with Carlos Beltran’s and decided they just had more comfort with Beltran’s tangible track record. But as they scouted Diaz, they grew their database and their understanding of the Cuban league, its players and the potential cost.
Mozeliak said this past December that he hoped by the end of the year to be in a position to make significant attempts to sign players in these “emerging markets.”
Three months later, Diaz will be in a Cardinals uniform.
Now they get to see what they have.
“I don’t tell any of our guys what they can and cannot do, and now he’s one of our guys,” Matheny said. “He looked like he had a lot of tools. Tools are tools. How can he refine (them)? It will be fun to watch him progress.”
