The Pirates' continued their offseason upheaval of the first base position Tuesday by claiming Lewin Díaz off of waivers from the Marlins.
Díaz, 26, was one of the game's best defensive first basemen last season, finishing second among players at his position with 4 Outs Above Average in just 410 innings in the field. The catch is he slashed just .169/.224/.288 with five home runs at 11 RBIs in 174 plate appearances.
While he did homer 19 times and have an above average .816 OPS in the minors, it wasn't the first time he hit well in Class AAA and then struggled in the majors. In 112 career games with the Marlins, he hit .181 with a .567 OPS and has been worth 0.1 rWAR.
Díaz did have a roughly league average 88.3 mph average exit velocity and was once touted for having power, though his 31% strikeout rate last year did not let him maximize his strength.
Díaz is a lefty, meaning he isn't a natural platoon partner for Ji-Man Choi, who the Pirates traded for from the Rays earlier this month. General manager Ben Cherington said last week the Pirates were still looking for players who could help the team at first base and designated hitter.
First base has been a serious area of need after Pirate first basemen finished last in baseball in batting average (.206), on-base percentage (.264), slugging percentage (.337), hits (119), runs scored (51) and WAR (-3.0, according to FanGraphs) in 2022.
Internally, the Pirates do not have much at first base outside of Choi, Díaz and perhaps Miguel Andújar. They opted last week to not select the contract of their top prospect at the position, Malcom Nunez, leaving him exposed to next month's Rule 5 draft.
To make room on the roster, utilityman Hoy Park has been designated for assignment.
Park came over to the Pirates as part of the Clay Holmes trade in 2021 and bounced between the majors and minors throughout his tenure with the club. He was the opening day second baseman and slashed .216/.276/.373 with two home runs and 6 RBIs over 60 major-league plate appearances this year.
The Pirates' roster is currently at 40.
