Aledmys Díaz

Aledmys Díaz
St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop
Born: (1990-08-01) August 1, 1990
Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Aledmys Díaz Serrano (born August 1, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball shortstop in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He played for the Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series from 2007 through 2012 before defecting so that he could play in the United States. Díaz signed with the Cardinals in 2014 to a four-year contract.

Career

Díaz played in the Cuban National Series for the Naranjas de Villa Clara. He debuted in 2007–08 by going nine for 32 in a utility role. At age 19 in 2008–09, Aledmis batted .301 with a .403 on-base percentage (OBP) and .482 slugging percentage (SLG) but fielded only .930 as a regular infielder. He was third in the Serie Nacional with 24 errors.

The next season, Díaz batted .282 with a .348 OBP, .363 SLG and fielded .950 as Villa Clara's starting shortstop. He tied for fifth in the Serie Nacional with 18 errors, having improved his defense. During his 2011–12 season, Díaz' offensive production continued to climb, as he batted .315 with a .404 OBP and .500 SLG. He hit 12 home runs in 270 at bats.[1][2] From 2008 to 2012, Díaz, batted .308 with a .401 OBP and .444 SLG.[2]

Díaz defected from Cuba in 2012 while playing with the Cuban national baseball team in a tournament in the Netherlands.[3] He was declared ineligible to sign with any MLB teams until February 19, 2014, due to lying about his age.[4] Díaz held a showcase for MLB teams with fellow Cuban defector Odrisamer Despaigne on February 13, 2014.[1] He signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $8 million on March 9.[5] He played for the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League in 2014, and for Springfield — all while battling injuries — before he was designated for assignment on July 8, 2015. In the last 45 games of the season, he batted .333, .404 OBP, and .574 SLG. The Cardinals re-added him to the 40-man roster after the season.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jarosh, Noah (February 12, 2014). "Cubans Aledmys Díaz and Odrisamer Despaigne will hold showcase Thursday". SB Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Axisa, Mike (March 9, 2014). "Cardinals agree to sign Cuban infielder Aledmys Díaz". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sánchez, Jesse (May 24, 2013). "Two top Cuban prospects near MLB free agency". MLB.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ Sánchez, Jesse (December 9, 2013). "Clubs interested in Cuban shortstop prospect Aledmys Díaz". MLB.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Silva, Drew (March 9, 2014). "Cardinals sign Cuban middle infielder to four-year major league contract". Hardball Talk. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ Berry, Adam (November 19, 2015). "Cards add Diaz, Kiekhefer, Tilson to roster". stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2015.

External links

Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the BR Bullpen article "Aledmis Díaz".
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