Marlins acquire Minor League 1B Lewin Diaz in exchange for RHP Sergio Romo
MIAMI – The Miami Marlins today acquired Minor League first baseman Lewin Diaz, Minnesota's No. 10 prospect per Baseball America, in exchange for RHP Sergio Romo, Minor League RHP Chris Vallimont, and a player to be named later.
Diaz, 22, is a 6-foot, 3-inch, 180-pound native of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. He is batting .297 (100x337) in 89 games between Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola this season, with 27 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 61 RBI, and a .558 slugging percentage. Diaz, who bats and throws left-handed, has also made just four errors in 742 chances at first base, good for a .995 fielding percentage.
Since being promoted to Double-A on June 19, he is batting .309 (38x123) in 32 games, with 16 doubles, a triple, six home runs, 25 RBI, and a .602 slugging percentage. His 16 doubles are just four shy of entering the Southern League's top-10 leaderboard despite his limited time in the league.
Over his five-plus season Minor League career, which began in 2014 in the Dominican Summer League after the Twins signed him as an International free agent in 2013, Diaz has combined to bat .273 with 107 doubles, nine triples, 55 home runs, and 248 RBI in 426 games.
After an injury-shortened 2018 campaign, Diaz has bounced back this season to set a new career-high for home runs, surpassing his previous high of 12 in 2017. His 61 RBI are already just seven shy of tying his career-high 68, also set in 2017. He has been a Midseason or Postseason All-Star in each of the last four seasons, in 2019 and 2018 in the Florida State League, in 2017 in the Midwest League, and in 2016 in the Appalachian League.
