FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The St. Louis Cardinals have already paid Aledmys Diaz $4 million. That’s pretty good money for a player who has yet to field a ground ball or take an at-bat in a major league game.
That could be about to change. With shortstop Jhonny Peralta likely headed for thumb surgery and out until around June, the team will give the 25-year-old Cuban a long look this spring as Peralta’s replacement for the early months of the season.
A day after Peralta’s injury was announced, Diaz played all nine innings at shortstop in the team’s 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins Tuesday. He went 4-for-4 with two doubles. The juxtaposition of Peralta’s injury with Diaz’s big day shouldn’t be viewed as a coincidence in the opinion of manager Mike Matheny.
“We’re not putting him on our team yet, but I’m just happy for him that he had a big day when there’s obviously more attention put on him and the position right now,” Matheny said. “I think that’s an asterisk next to it to say it wasn’t just another spring training game. This was a day when he was put on the spot.”
Even before this spring’s developments, Diaz already was building toward a role in St. Louis. He had a strong second half in the minor leagues in 2015, including batting .380 in 14 games at Triple-A Memphis and then scalding the ball in the Arizona Fall League. Before last season’s surge, most scouts viewed Diaz’s glove as being far ahead of his bat.
Peralta’s injury could speed up the team’s timeline for Diaz. That presumes the Cardinals don’t acquire a veteran shortstop in a trade. The other in-house alternatives aren’t obvious fits. Greg Garcia is a 26-year-old minor league utility man and Jedd Gyorko rarely played shortstop for the San Diego Padres, a team that has been desperate to land one for years.
Diaz, who has $4 million and two more seasons left on the deal he signed two years ago out of Cuba, would seem like the most logical candidate to get first crack at Peralta’s position.
“I don’t want to think too much. I just want to play and be ready,” Diaz said. “I don’t want to think, ‘All right, this is my time. I have to do more things than I’ve done in the past.’ I’m just focusing on being healthy and working hard in the field. If they give me that opportunity, I’ll be ready for that.”
The Cardinals continue to say they’ll wait to get the results of a second opinion Peralta is seeking Tuesday afternoon in St. Louis before determining a course of action. If they decide to acquire a shortstop via trade, Erick Aybar of the Atlanta Braves, Freddy Galvis of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ruben Tejada of the New York Mets are viewed as possible trade targets.
