| Elías Díaz | |
| Team: | Free agent |
| Position: | Catcher |
| Birth Date: | 17 November 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | September 12 |
| Debutyear: | 2015 |
| Debutteam: | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Statyear: | August 14, 2024 |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .252 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 61 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 294 |
| Teams: |
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| Highlights: | |
Elías David Díaz Soto (born November 17, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. Díaz has also represented the Colombia national baseball team.
Díaz signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in 2008. He made his professional debut in 2009 for the Venezuelan Summer League Pirates. From 2010 to 2013, he played for the Gulf Coast Pirates (batting .210), West Virginia Power (batting .221, and then .208 the following year) and Bradenton Marauders (batting .279).[1]
Díaz started 2014 with the Double-A Altoona Curve. In August he was promoted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians after hitting .328 with Altoona, but he then batted .152/.243/.182 in Triple–A.[2] [3] [4] On November 20, 2014, Díaz was added to the Pirates' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[5]
Diaz batted 0-for-2 in the major leagues in 2015, 0-for-4 in 2016, and .223/.265/.314 with one home run in 200 plate appearances in 2017.[6]
On December 2, 2019, Díaz was non-tendered by Pittsburgh and became a free agent.[7]
On January 6, 2020, Díaz signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. Díaz made the Opening Day roster for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Díaz batted .235/.288/.353 with two home runs in 73 plate appearances over 2020. In 2021, he batted .246/.310/.464 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 106 games. On November 18, 2021, Díaz signed a three-year, $14.5 million extension with the Rockies.[8] On September 10, Diaz went 4-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI, including a three-run walk-off home run, leading the Rockies to a 13-10 win.[9]
In 2023, Díaz was named to the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He hit the game-winning home run for the National League in the eighth inning and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[10] In 141 games for Colorado in 2023, he slashed .267/.316/.409 with 14 home runs and a career–high 72 RBI.
Díaz played in 84 games for the Rockies in 2024, hitting .270/.315/.378 with five home runs and 36 RBI. He was released by Colorado following the promotion of Drew Romo on August 16, 2024.[11]
Born in Venezuela, Díaz is of Colombian descent through his father, and is thus eligible to represent the Colombia national baseball team. He was slated to play with Colombia at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but was not permitted by the Pirates organization due to injury reasons.[12] He was named to the Colombian roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he shared catching duties with Meibrys Viloria. Díaz hit .250/.250/.375 over eight at-bats in the tournament, with one double and one RBI.[13]