The Oakland Athletics roster is seeing a few changes on Thursday. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz lands on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist strain, making way for the Athletics to call up a Houston Astros former first round pick in Daz Cameron from Triple-A Las Vegas. The Athletics 40-man roster was full, so the team had to make a move there as well. They opted to designate Jordan Diaz for assignment.
The Athletics Roster and Jordan Diaz
Diaz, 23, hails from Colombia and had shown promise as he worked his way through the A’s farm system. According to MLB Pipeline, heading into 2023, he was the No. 7 prospect on the Athletics roster. 2022 is where he really stood out between Double-A and Triple-A. He hit .326/.366/.515 across 120 games between the two levels of the minors. He hit 19 home runs and had 83 RBI with 34 doubles. This came after he was added to the 40-man roster in 2021.
Diaz got the call to the big leagues in 2022 and 2023. He had 344 plate appearances and showed that the power was there with ten home runs and 12 doubles. His main trouble is finding his pitch to hit and making consistent contact. He had a walk rate of just 5.5% and ended 2023 with a slash line of .227/.276/.358 and a wRC+ of 79.
After spring training in 2024, he was sent to Triple-A to continue working on his bat, but it hasn’t panned out. He’s hit .204/.288/.327 with 2 home runs in 111 plate appearances. His inability to continue the success he had forced the team to remove him from the Athletics roster.
Daz Cameron Selected
Cameron, 27, finds himself back in the big leagues on the Athletics roster after signing a minor league deal with Oakland. In Triple-A this year, Cameron has six home runs while hitting .307/.424/.577. While he struggled with the Detroit Tigers in making consistent contact in the big leagues, he’s back to walking 16.4% of the time while cutting down the strikeouts to 21.2%, which is the third lowest across all of his professional career. When he had a chance with the Tigers, he disappointed to a .201/.266/.330 slash line. Even still, he could find his way to being a serviceable major leaguer. Especially if he continues putting up the numbers he did in Triple-A this season.
The Athletics roster is looking for a more complimentary piece to their outfield, with the likes of JJ Bleday, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, and Tyler Nevin able to play in the outfield. However, adding Cameron into the mix gives them a right-handed bat that can add value to the outfield.
