Aledmys Díaz and the Astros have reached a minor league agreement, as announced by the team itself this Saturday. The player will first report to the organization’s training complex in West Palm Beach before being assigned to any level of the farm system.
The 33-year-old Cuban utility man was designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics on July 2 and subsequently received his release on the 5th of that month, basically a few months before completing a two-year, 14.5 million deal that he signed with club shortly after winning the 2022 World Series with those same Houston Astros.
Even if he manages to earn a spot on the Astros team, his salary will not exceed the league minimum ($760,000 in 2024) on a prorated basis, since he still has a Major League deal in place.
Díaz played for the Astros from 2019 to 2022 in the same utility role he plays now, played in three World Series (2019, 2021 and 2022) and compiled a slash line of 255./313./424./737, with 49 doubles, one triple , 32 home runs and 129 RBIs in a total of 262 games (952 PA).
The Villa Clara native was originally signed by the San Luis Cardinals in March 2014, and he debuted with them in the majors two years later. In his first season as a bigleaguer he was selected to the All-Star Game and was a top-5 finisher in the National League Rookie of the Year .