Elias Díaz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Diego Padres catcher Elias Diaz hit his second home run of the season on Wednesday night, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored to help fuel his team's 5-3 win. The Padres swept the brief two-game series against the Giants to bounce back after being swept at home by the Rays last weekend. Diaz is still hitting just .214 on the season but does have a .298 wOBA to go with his two home runs, eight walks, and a double. He will continue to share time behind the dish with Martin Maldonado, and although he's the better batter of the tandem, he isn't mixed-league material at this point. His power could make him a DFS or streaming option, though, if he can build on Wednesday's performance in the Friars' series this weekend in Pittsburgh.

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.