SF Giants recall former top-100 prospect place OF Mike Yastrzemski on IL
The SF Giants recalled infielder Isan Díaz from Triple-A Sacramento prior to their game on Friday night, calling upon the left-handed bat after placing outfielder Mike Yastrzemski on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Yastrzemski left Wednesday's game with tightness in his hamstring and the team seemed optimistic he could avoid a stint on the IL the following day. However, things clearly changed in the past 24 hours. Díaz has not appeared in the majors since he was with the Miami Marlins from 2019-2021.
SF Giants 2B Isan Diaz bats during a spring training game. (2023)
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants added Díaz to their 40-man roster at the end of last season after an excellent year at Triple-A Sacramento. He was expected to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster but was sidelined by an injury. Since returning, he has hit .316/.350/.684 with a double and two home runs in five games. He has struck out seven times in 20 plate appearances.
Díaz was drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks and decided to forego his commitment to Vanderbilt and turned pro. Following an impressive season at the Pioneer League in 2015, the Diamondbacks traded Díaz, Aaron Hill, Chase Anderson, and cash to the Brewers for Jean Segura and Tyler Wagner.
In Díaz's first year of full-season ball, he hit .264/.358/.469 with 20 home runs at Single-A. Just 20 at the time, Díaz emerged as a consensus top-100 prospect, ranking as 93rd, 65th, and 59th on Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus' respective prospect lists that offseason.
However, Díaz struggled to translate that power to better competition, struggling at High-A in 2017. The following offseason, Díaz was traded once again, this time to the Miami Marlins along with Lewis Brinson as a headliner in the package that brought Christian Yelich to Milwaukee.
Díaz made his big-league debut with the Marlins in 2019 and had MLB stints in each of the next three seasons, receiving extensive everyday opportunities at second base in 2019 and 2021. While Díaz posted respectable strikeout (27.8%) and walk (10.6%) rates in his 500 plate appearances with the Marlins, he struggled to generate enough hard contact to hold onto a starting job, hitting just .185/.275/.287.
Giants acquired Díaz in a trade for a player to be named later or cash (since no player has been exchanged at this point in time, it seems likely that the Giants only surrendered cash) early in the 2022 season and was arguably the team's second-best best player at Triple-A behind David Villar.
Díaz hit .275/.377/.574 with 23 home runs in 83 games with the Sacramento River Cats in 2022. The Giants appeared to be planning to give him another MLB opportunity in September before an injury cut his season short.
Yastrzemski has hit .259/.324/.482 with 12 doubles, a triple, and ten home runs in 55 games this season. Yaz has arguably been the Giants' most consistent player since he joined the team in 2019. In fact, he is the only player on the roster who has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past five seasons. This is his second IL stint with a left hamstring strain this season.
The SF Giants will have to make do without one of their best outfielders for the next nine days after placing Mike Yastrzemski on the injured list. However, the injury has opened the door for Isan Díaz to return to the major leagues.
