Elias Díaz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Diego Padres catcher Elias Diaz will open the game on the bench on Friday at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs' home opener. Martin Maldonado will do the catching for right-hander Randy Vasquez and will bat ninth against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. Diaz and Maldonado will continue to split the catching duties in San Diego for the time being with Luis Campusano starting 2025 at Triple-A El Paso. Neither backstop moves the needle much in fantasy outside of two-catcher and NL-only formats. The 34-year-old Diaz, who was an All-Star in 2023 with the Colorado Rockies, has gone 3-for-13 with a walk and four strikeouts in four games to begin the year, while Maldonado has two hits, an RBI and four strikeouts in his first 11 plate appearances. Maldonado has gone hitless in just two career at-bats versus Imanaga.

According to Daniel Alvarez-Montes, the San Diego Padres re-signed catcher Elias Diaz to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million that contains a mutual option for the 2026 season. Diaz joined the Padres in August and will return to San Diego. Diaz opened the season with the Colorado Rockies and was eventually released after posting a .270/.325/.378 line across 84 games. Across 12 games with San Diego, Diaz posted a .190/.292/.429 line with two doubles and one home run. Fantasy managers should expect Diaz to compete for the starting role during spring training alongside Luis Campusano, Brett Sullivan, and Martin Maldonado. Across 10 career major league seasons, the 34-year-old holds a cumulative .251/.304/.388 slash line. He could be worth a look in NL-only formats if he earns the starting job.

The San Diego Padres signed catcher Elias Diaz to a minor-league contract on Monday, according to sources. Diaz will report to Triple-A El Paso and will provide the Friars with extra catching depth behind Kyle Higashioka and Luis Campusano to close out the 2024 season. Diaz was a first-time All-Star in 2023 and also won the All-Star game MVP before collapsing since this year's All-Star break, causing the Colorado Rockies to put him on outright waivers. The 33-year-old Venezuelan backstop saw his power drop considerably (only five home runs) in 84 games for the Rockies this year, but he did hit .270 (82-for-304) with 36 RBI in 327 trips to the plate. It's unlikely Diaz will see significant playing time in San Diego the rest of the year unless one of Higashioka or Campusano miss time with an injury. You can leave Diaz on the waiver wire for the time being.