Astros: 3 under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on at mini-camp

Although not highly known around the baseball word, Edwin Diaz could be a similar project to Jose Siri.

Diaz, not the one that attempts to close for the New York Mets, has been assigned to the Oakland A’s in his career but has never made it to the major leagues. He embarks on a new minor-league career with Houston, off the 40-man roster.

His signing went unreported by beat writers, as Climbing Tal’s Hill stumbled upon it on Baseball America’s transaction page last month. The signing wasn’t system changing for Houston, in part to Diaz’s offensive struggles as of late.

In 41 Double-A games in 2021, the 26-year-old was average, slashing .243/.319/.438. Diaz has strokes of power, but offensive consistency doesn’t look to be an attribute in recent seasons.

Diaz’s glove is what interested the Astros.

"“Diaz is great,” Bell said. “He has incredible hands defensively and gives us some more options amongst the infield position.”"

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys saw the departures of infielders Jacob Wilson, who was also a former Athletic, Robel Garcia, Miguelangel Sierra and others following the end of the 2021 season, so Diaz’s addition could be adding that depth lost.

This is similar to claiming Robel Garcia from the Los Angeles Angels last spring or signing Siri, who was also on his last leg, to round out the outfield at the Triple-A level.