On the same day the club added a new first baseman, the Pirates announced a two-year deal with outfielder Matt Diaz. News of the agreement came a week ago at the Winter Meetings, though Diaz had to undergo a physical before it became official.
Diaz is guaranteed .25 million over the next two years. He will earn a million base salary in 2011 and ’12 and picks up a signing bonus worth 0,000. Diaz can earn up to another 5,000 per year based on plate appearances and has a number of award incentives also built into the deal, where to buy Cheap MLB jerseys, maybe ujersy is a good choice.
The Pirates had plenty of competition in their pursuit of Diaz, who was non-tendered by the Braves on Dec. 2.
The addition of Diaz gives Pittsburgh the right-handed-hitting outfielder they coveted. The Pirates have been looking for someone who could be a threat against left-handed pitching, and Diaz fits that mold precisely.
He has a career .335 batting average and .533 slugging percentage against southpaws in parts of eight seasons in the Majors. Diaz, 32, hit .273 against lefties last season.
Diaz’s numbers dip against right-handed pitching, but the Pirates have left-handed-hitting options to complement Diaz in right field. The Pirates’ current plan is to platoon Diaz and Garrett Jones, who offers a .282 career average against right-handers.
Ryan Doumit and John Bowker are among the backup outfield options that the Pirates now have, if you want to buy Montreal Expos Jerseys, go to ujersy.
Though Diaz played mostly in left field while with Atlanta, the transition to right shouldn’t be much trouble. He has played 78 career games there and is considered an average to above-average defender.
Diaz missed a little more than a month dealing with an infection in his right thumb last year and finished the season with a .250 average in 84 games. He batted .313 in 125 games in 2009, one year after a knee injury limited him to 43 games.
Diaz was squeezed out of a spot in Atlanta’s 2011 plans when the Braves acquired Dan Uggla in November. The addition of Uggla shifts Martin Prado to left field, where Diaz had served as a vital platoon player for the…
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