A left oblique injury will sideline the Astros catcher Yainer Diaz on the 10-day injured list, manager Joe Espada tells Houston Rhythm (reported by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Houston called César Salazar tonight with Diaz unavailable, so they likely won’t name another starter when the IL tournament concludes tomorrow.
Zach Dezenzo again Shay Whitcomb — the latter picked up tonight as a complementary move to Salazar’s selection — are the only healthy position players in their Triple-A assignment. Teams generally cannot recall a hitter for at least 10 days, but an exception is made when he is called up to replace an injured player.
Diaz will be the sixth hitter to go on Houston’s injured list. You join Jeremy Peña again Jake Meyers like ordinary people who don’t work. And they are at the bottom of the first six layers – including their top four considered arms Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai again Cristian Javier – and they weren’t close Josh Hader the whole season.
Injuries continue a rough start for Diaz. The 27-year-old has been one of the best catchers in MLB in his three-plus seasons. His numbers have steadily declined year over year since a promising rookie campaign, however, and he has struggled through the first six weeks. Diaz is hitting .248/.264/.356 with a pair of home runs across 106 plate appearances.
One of the most aggressive hitters in the league, Diaz has always had a ground floor. He has generally hit for solid averages and ranked fourth among catchers (behind Raleigh, Shea Langeliers again Salvador Perez) with 59 homers between 2023-25. Diaz’s ground balls are high and his solid contact rate is excellent early on.
Still it beats Houston’s lineup pretty well. Christian Vázquez he hit very well (.316/.371/.491) in the early going, but had one of the lightest at-bats of the past three seasons. The Astros were happy with what they got from Vázquez’s minor league contract. However, he may have lost his first catcher’s job at this stage of his career. The Astros have given Salazar limited MLB opportunities over the past few years.
Espada did not specify a timeline for Diaz’s return. There is a wide range of outcomes for oblique injuries depending on the severity of the type. Even limited editions often cost hitters a few weeks to a month.
