Matt Diaz’s kids still keep their signed Bobby Cox bobblehead dolls on their nightstands. Diaz's son Nathan, 4, still considers Martin Prado his favorite player.
The Braves have a continual void on their bench where Diaz’s right-handed power bat used to be. And with Jason Heyward and Nate McLouth on the disabled list, they can’t help but miss their five-year fixture as an extra outfielder, now playing a similar role with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Braves and Pirates open a two-game series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night that features a little nostalgia, as well as a glimpse into how both Diaz and the Braves have moved on.
“I follow them a little bit,” said Diaz, who'll likely start against his former team on Wednesday against left-hander Mike Minor. “Not too much because you can’t watch your old team in the locker room. Everyone tells you to turn the page.”
Diaz began that process in December when he signed a two-year $4.25 million deal with the Pirates shortly after the Braves didn't offer him a contract even though he was arbitration eligible, no longer viewing him as a fit in their financial plans.
For two months, Diaz had seen it coming. For the first time in years, he actually packed up his locker at Turner Field the day after the season ended.
With his son Nathan in tow that day, he’d joked that he wouldn’t be packing if he’d hit .300. Diaz averaged .305 in his five years with the Braves but hit only .250 in 84 games last year, a season marred by a thumb infection.
His joke cut close to the truth, and he knew it.
“I don’t take anything personally and I understand that it is a business,” Diaz said. “The Braves front office is not going to pay a guy because they like him. They’re going to pay a guy because they need him and [think] he can perform.”
Diaz, popular in the clubhouse, held out some hope the Braves might re-sign him until just before the Dec. 2 deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, even though they’d just traded for Dan Uggla, acquired Joe Mather and were about to spent $62 million locking up Uggla.
Diaz and his agents had a minimum figure in mind if the Braves made him an offer, below the $2.55 million salary he made last year. They never did.
Diaz was at a Christian sports conference in Orlando, near his Winter Haven, Fla., home, when Braves general manager Frank Wren called him Dec. 1 to tell him of the Braves’ intentions to not re-sign him the following day.
“It was handled first-class by Frank,” said Diaz, whose son Jake was born the following day as well. “He’s always been bluntly honest with me. I think we have a good relationship because of that.”
Diaz said it was Wren’s frankness that helped him through a critical time in 2008, when he thought he was ready to return from a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
“It was the All-Star break,” Diaz said. “They were going to send me back on a rehab. I said, ‘I’m tired of rehab, I want to play in the big leagues.’ He goes, ‘From what I hear, you’re not ready to play in the big leagues.’”
Diaz visited a specialist in Colorado, took another month to rehabilitate his knee and came back in late September. He had one of his best years the following season in 2009, with career highs in home runs (13), RBIs (58), plate appearances (425) and stolen bases (12).
Diaz credits the Braves with turning his career around in general. He had played only 48 games in three seasons with the Devil Rays and Royals, when the Braves traded for him in December 2005. Cox, the former Braves manager, planted a seed in his mind the following spring.
“He said, “I’ve seen you hit on film, you can really help us,’” Diaz said. “Those words changed my life. I changed my mind from just trying to stay in camp as long as I can to get as much meal money as I can to ‘I can make this team.’”
He did that for five seasons, despite his a quirky swing and highly aggressive approach. Perhaps now, Diaz’s biggest compliment to Cox is the mentality he has with the Pirates.
Ten days after he signed, under the impression he’d be given a chance to fight for an every-day role, the Pirates signed first baseman Lyle Overbay. That meant Garrett Jones would move from first base to platoon with Diaz in right field.
Diaz had just signed his first multi-year contract, was encouraged by his new manager Clint Hurdle and was excited to move into a new home with his wife Leslee and three young kids in a golf course community near Pittsburgh that was converted from an apple orchard.
“I was an every-day player for 10 days,” Diaz said jokingly. “But obviously when we signed Lyle, I totally understood.”
Diaz has hit .237 in his first 33 games in a part-time role for Pittsburgh. He’s waiting for one of those familiar hot streaks while introducing the Pirates to his unfailing team-oriented attitude. That comes partly from Diaz’s DNA and partly from what he learned as a Brave.
“Bobby used to always tell me in spring training, when we broke camp, ‘Right now you’re platooning, but who knows what’s going to happen in July and August,’” Diaz said. “It’s still May. I could get hot. Trades happen. Injuries happen. You’ve just got to stay ready."
