Official: Matt Diaz signs 1 year contract

[KB 34]

Diaz gets 1 year $2.55 million. Despite his hot streak at the end of the season I have my doubts about whether he'll be worth the money. Is he that everyday player, or the one we saw two years ago who made Francoeur look good? Yes yes, he can platoon. However, I'd like a non-platoon offensive option in LF one of these years. Discuss

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091212&content_id=7802818&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

[Lauren T.]

You can all guess how happy I am! MattE is probably my favorite Brave, overall, right now. He deserved to have his salary doubled.

[HomerTheBrave]

Good value,IMO......
a bit too streaky for my taste, but I like him..

[Dreamscape]

Diaz gets 1 year $2.55 million. Despite his hot streak at the end of the season I have my doubts about whether he'll be worth the money.
During his career with the Braves, fangraphs believes Diaz has been worth...
2006 - $7M
2007 - $11.9M
2008 - -$3.6M
2009 - $11.5M

Yeah, I'd say he's worth the money. I mean, he crushes lefthanders. I do think he would be stretched thin as an everyday starter, but as a platoon/4th outfielder, he is well worth the money. He's even a bargain.

[wordslayer©]

I like Diaz.

He's like a value meal at McDonald's. You eat that $hit every day and you'll be dead by the end of the year, but if you eat it in moderation.....it's cheap, filling, and can be quite enjoyable.

[-Dr. Brave-]

During his career with the Braves, fangraphs believes Diaz has been worth...
2006 - $7M
2007 - $11.9M
2008 - -$3.6M
2009 - $11.5M


Diaz is worth every penny, but I don't put much stock in fangraphs. Didn't they say that ARod was worth something like $30M this year?

Thankfully Diaz didn't have to pay back $3.6M in 2008. :rolleyes:

[Dreamscape]

$20M this year. Now, his amazing 2007 year had him at about $36M. Pujols has been in that range each of the past three years, spiking two years ago at about $40M.

[jamminHANES]

Outside of straight production, which is usually my only factor in evaluating players, a guy like Diaz is essential for any good team. He's our teams Nick Swisher, a fun loving attitude that keeps the clubhouse enjoyable throughout the season and just looks like hes having a blast every time he steps onto the field.

I'm no Bobby supporter, but one thing you have to give him credit for is always making the most of his fringe-starters/bench players since he's been in Atlanta. There are countless names that had improved numbers compared to the rest of their career when they played with the Braves in moderation.

[CharlotteBrave]

I've been thinking, is a platoon in LF really that bad?

If Bobby had Church face the RHPs and Diaz facing the LHPs, I bet their combined numbers would be as good as anyone in the bigs. Their combined batting stats would probably be comparable to a $15m everyday player (This is perception, I've done no research).

Does anyone have Diaz vs LHPs and Church vs RHPs stats last season while they were platooning? If the numbers are as good as I think they'd be, then what's the point of even aiming for that big name LF?

You guys know much more than I, so I'll defer if this is a misguided POV.

[Agent-X-]

I've been thinking, is a platoon in LF really that bad?

If Bobby had Church face the RHPs and Diaz facing the LHPs, I bet their combined numbers would be as good as anyone in the bigs. Their combined batting stats would probably be comparable to a $15m everyday player (This is perception, I've done no research).

Does anyone have Diaz vs LHPs and Church vs RHPs stats last season while they were platooning? If the numbers are as good as I think they'd be, then what's the point of even aiming for that big name LF?

You guys know much more than I, so I'll defer if this is a misguided POV.

Church's splits vs RHP are not that solid, really... an OPS of .755. And those are his good #'s.

Church has seen better days, though. In his best, season, he produced an .866 OPS vs RHP.

Of course, on the flip side, Matt posted an OPS above 1.100 vs LHP's last season. He mashes LHP's like Barry Bonds mashed in his biggest season, so that kind of production definitely deserves a spot in the lineup when faced with LHPs. I just don't know if Church is the guy we want out there... unless he can slug a bit better than he has in recent years... his power #'s are on the decline.

To hammer home the point against Church, Diaz actually had an OPS vs RHP of .749 last season. Hypothetically, Diaz could play full time and we'd get virtually the same production out of him. Strictly by these numbers, we should shed the cost of Church and just play Diaz.

Realistically, I don't think Diaz's #'s would fair as well if he wasn't being strategically played. There would be some drop... even a small one. Obviously, we should pick a better candidate to platoon Diaz with.

[KB 34]

I present Diaz as an everyday starter, 2008 experiment. Credit goes to baseballreference.com for the stats. I find it interesting his numbers plummeted like this when he started everyday. To me it makes the case for him being the 4th outfielder who also fills in at 1B and starts for injured players. That way his AB totals are strategically limited. I've said it before and I'll say it again, as a utility player he's valuable. If he's a starting outfielder I'm giving up on the season day 1.
Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
2008 43 33 140 135 9 33 2 0 2 14 4 2 3 32 .244 .264 .304 .568 41 4 1 0 1 0 3 .304 100 52

[Andy G.]

Do you honestly believe that 33 starts as an "everyday" player is enough evidence to definitively state that he's not up for it?

Diaz has seen major league action in six different seasons, but in '04, '05 and '08 he only had 6, 35 and 63 at bats against righties. '06, '07 and '09 are the only seasons in which Diaz has seen a significant amount of at bats against righties.
AB AVG OBP SLG OPS
2006 - 151 .358 .400 .477 .877
2007 - 170 .318 .350 .406 .756
2008 - 235 .255 .349 .400 .750

Total - 565 .297 .341 .409 .750
His combined OPS against righties in the only three seasons that he's had more than 63 at bats against them is .750. He had virtually the same OPS against righties in '08 and '09, but how he accumulated those numbers is what's interesting.

His batting average in those three years is .297. There's no doubt Diaz can hit .300 against righties whether he's an everyday player or not. He only hit .255 against them last year, yet his OPS did not fall with his average because of his increase in power and plate discipline.

His IsoSLG against righties in '06 was .116. The next year it was just .088, but last season it was .145. His IsoOBP for the year was .077, against righties it was .094.

Every time Diaz gets more opportunities, his numbers improve. If there's an extremely affordable lefty out there who will hit right handed pitchers better than Diaz, then by all means let's platoon them. Platoons are often very smart and are underrated by fans. But, if this guy isn't super cheap and doesn't hit righties better than Diaz, it will be a waste of funds and a waste of talent while Matt Diaz sits on the bench.

[Gman]

I think the decision on whether or not to bolster Diaz with a platoonmate rests on who they get to play 1b and what decision they make on RF (Schafer, Heyward or a 1 year patch). The lineup could end up very lefthand loaded if they get a strong LH bat for 1b and go with Schafer or Heyward in RF. Given that, they would be fine with what Diaz's stats indicate he would provide against righties.

I think the Lowe or Vazquez trade really has to happen next for Wren to put the finishing touches on the team. To me a platoon-mate for Diaz is a finishing touch that may or may not be necessary. The more I look at possible solutions the more I see Nick Swisher. He's a great fit for either 1b or RF. It would give Wren a lot of flexibility in finishing off the team. C'mon Yanks you need Lowe!