Astros: Should Houston replace Diaz with Tanielu?

Aledmys Diaz’s first impression with the Astros is leaving much to be desired, is it too early to press the panic button?

The Houston Astros acquired Aledmys Diaz in the offseason by shipping off (then) prospect Trent Thornton to Toronto. This led many fans to speculate that Diaz would ultimately be the new Marwin Gonzalez. Spoiler alert: It did.

There are a few things I know span across all aspects of sports. One, you treat the umpire/referee with respect. Two, you never over-celebrate. Three, the seasons are long, don’t panic after the first game.

However, with baseball, sometimes these rules don’t apply.

Before Spring Training, this looked to be like a slam dunk. Looking at his previous history in St. Louis, this looked like a stereotypical Jeff Luhnow-low key-win trade. I’m referring to trades like the Ryan Pressly trade, or how he was able to land Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields.

Fast forward to now, and this is looking like a Carlos Gomez type deal. A rare miss.

(Don’t tell anyone, but Thornton just made his major league debut and went 5 IP giving up two hits and striking out eight.) 

Not the Utility Man the Astros Need.

It is no easy task, however, to come into Houston as a fresh face and replace a massive fan favorite. A player has to do a Herculean feat to win-over an already upset fan base.

Diaz has not done anything to change the fans minds.

Spring training produced a .154 average for Diaz, combined with 11 strikeouts in 52 at bats. I know the saying “Spring Training numbers don’t mean much”, but when players like Nick Tanielu fully grasp their opportunity (to the tune of .347/.407/.796) when does that saying get dismissed?

Now, after a four-game series with the Rays, Diaz is sitting on a 0-9 start and 4 strikeouts. And that’s 3 full games of full-time play.

Tanielu hasn’t even started his season in Round Rock yet, but Jeff Luhnow needs to make a switch soon. To promote from within, following an outstanding Spring, would ease both the fans minds and bolster the player.