When outfielder Matt Diaz walked into the Braves clubhouse at 4:18 p.m. Wednesday, it seemed as if he had never left. Only the Pirates equipment bag he was lugging looked out of place.
The Braves re-acquired the popular outfielder from Pittsburgh on Wednesday in a trade for a player to be named. The Pirates also gave the Braves an undisclosed amount of cash to cover a portion of Diaz’s $2 million salary in 2012.
“I couldn’t sleep much last night, thinking about what it would be,” said Diaz, who was told Tuesday night he would likely be traded, but not which team he might be going to. “Then at 10:30 this morning Central Standard Time, I got the best news I could have imagined. I got on a plane within an hour-and-a-half, I think.”
He gives the Braves a right-handed bat off the bench to complement left-handed hitter Eric Hinske, and Diaz will get some starts against lefties. He was in the lineup against Washington lefty John Lannan on Wednesday.
“The numbers show he can handle Lannan,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Diaz, who came in 12-for-30 (.400) against Lannan. “He can handle a lot of left-handers around the league, which is nice to have because [the Braves’ lineup is] so left-handed dominant.”
Diaz, 33, hit .305 with 41 homers and a .353 on-base percentage in five seasons with the Braves through 2010, serving mainly as a platoon player and pinch-hitter. They made the trade before Tuesday’s deadline for Diaz to be eligible for the postseason roster.
Diaz signed a two-year, $4.25 million contract with Pittsburgh in December, after the Braves decided they didn’t want to pay the approximate $3 million that he would have commanded through arbitration.
They had claimed Joe Mather off waivers from St. Louis in November expecting him to fill Diaz’s former role, but Mather was dropped in June after hitting .213 with one homer in 75 at-bats.
Diaz had a disappointing season with the Pirates, batting .259 with no homers and a .303 OBP in 231 plate appearances. However, he hit .295 against lefties, including .370 since June. He was 11-for-44 as a pinch-hitter.
Against left-handers, the Braves ranked last in the National League in average (.227) and on-base percentage (.296) before Wednesday. Braves pinch-hitters were 12th in the NL with a .196 overall average.
The Braves wanted to add a right-handed bat, and Diaz’s lack of home runs this season didn’t concern them, general manager Frank Wren said.
“Especially after the [July 31 non-waiver trade] deadline when we got even more left-handed, it’s been one of the pieces we were looking for to solidify our club,” Wren said. “We know Matt can hit. He’s shown that. He’s swung the bat very well, especially against left-handers over the last couple months.”
Diaz was a force against left-handers during his years with the Braves, with a gaudy .369 average, 17 homers and a .975 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS) in a three-season stretch through 2009.
His overall average slipped to .250 in 2010, but he still hit .273 with five homers and an .830 OPS against lefties.
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