Aledmys Díaz

At 33 years old, Aledmys Díaz has this physical status:

Aledmys D'az Serrano (born August 1, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He competed with Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series from 2007 to 2012 before moving to the United States.

D.Az signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 and made his MLB debut with them in 2016.

He has also played for the Toronto Blue Jays. A.307 batting average,.397 on-base percentage (OBP), and a.439 slugging percentage over 342 games are among Santa Clara's career accomplishments in the Cuban National Series.

Prior to playing in the United States, he spent a brief period in Mexico City.

He was the first player in MLB to have a.500 batting average after 50 at bats, and was named an All-Star for the National League team as a rookie.

Early life

Dáz was raised on the streets as a child in Santa Clara, Cuba, and was friends with, eventual Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher José Fernández, who was a member of the National League Baseball (MLB). They both competed for the same youth baseball team, and Dáz' father and uncle pleaded with Fernández's mother to bring him to the ballpark. Fernández said that if D'az' uncle had not been a catalyst early in his life, he would not have pursued a career in baseball.

Personal life

D.Az and his partner Dayara have one son, who was born on August 5, 2016. In the offseason, they live in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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Baseball career

Dáz competed in the Serie Nacional de Béisbol (Cuban National Series), Cuba's top amateur baseball tournament, for the Naranjas de Villa Clara, headquartered in Santa Clara. He debuted in the 2007–08 season by going nine for 32 in a utility role. D'az batted.301 with a.403 on-base percentage (OBP) and.482 slugging percentage (SLG), but fielded only.930 as a regular infielder, despite being 19 years old at age 19 in 2008. He was third in the Serie Nacional with 24 errors.

As Villa Clara's starting shortstop, D.282 batted.348 OBP, 363 SLG, and fielded.950. He finished fifth in the Serie Nacional with 18 errors, having strengthened his defense. D'az' offensive output continued to grow during his 2011–12 seasons as he batted.315 with a.404 OBP and.500 SLG. In 270 at bats, he hit 12 home runs. D.308 batted from 2008 to 2012, scoring.404 OBP and.444 SLG.

D'az has played in 342 games in his Cuban National Series career, batting.397,.439 SLG, 193 runs scored, 27 home runs, and 165 runs batted in (RBI) in 1125 at bats. He left Cuba in 2012 while playing for the Cuban national baseball team in a tournament in the Netherlands. Due to lying about his age, he was refused permission to sign with any MLB franchise until February 19, 2014. He spent the first 18 months after fleeing from Cuba and playing in Mexico City.

On February 13, 2014, D.az hosted a showcase featuring fellow Cuban defector Odrisamer Despaigne. Despite the fact that D'az was initially expected to earn a major league contract with similar compensation to other Cuban defectors such as Alex Guerrero and Erisbel Arruebarrena, his performance in the showcase did not give the appearance that he deserved such a salary, and, furthermore, many clubs dropped out on him altogether. He had to leave Mexico City to play professional baseball, and he was completely out of shape. On March 9, he agreed to a four-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $8 million.

In 2014, the Cardinals first assigned D'az to the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and he was then named to the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League. He batted.273/.441, 24 RBIs, and seven stolen bases in 47 games between both teams. He suffered with injuries while playing for Springfield in 2015 before being recalled for service on July 8, 2015. Although he had benefited from natural talent when playing in Cuba, his lack of preparation caused his success to suffer when competing in the minor leagues. However, he began to prepare more and ask more questions daily.

D'Az batted.333 with a.404 OBP and a.574 SLG in the last 45 games of the 2015 season, despite his exclusion from the 40-man roster. After the season, the Cardinals recalled him to the 40-man roster. D'az was batting.339/.445 in over 116 games between Springfield and the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League during the full 2015 season. He batted.239 against right-handed pitchers,.371 against left-handers,.329 in road games, and.222 in home games. Following the regular season, he continued in the Arizona Fall League, achieving a.616 SLG and.987 OPS.

The Cardinals then traded three veteran players to accommodate D.az's role as the starting shortstop, after originally planning for him to spend the 2016 season in Memphis. Tommy Pham, a defensive lineman who had left the Cardinals outfield on Opening Day two days earlier due to a injury, was recalled to the major league roster on April 5, 2016. D'az debuted on the same day as his call-up. Jon Niese was singled out for his first hit in a 6–5 loss in his first major league at bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Daz' presence on the roster had already given the Cardinals a strong hitter with upside who could play shortstop and fill a void until Rubén Tejada's return to spring training. Tejada himself was a free agent during spring training to replace Jhonny Peralta, who had already suffered himself and was unlikely to play much longer than Tejada.

D'Az's first major league home run on April 8, 2004, helped the Cardinals become the first team in major league history to reach three pinch hit home runs in a single game. The Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves 7–4 with Jeremy Hazelbaker and Greg Garcia as the other pinch hitters. Two pinch hit home runs by the same team in one game was previously unhearded on 57 occasions, most recently in 2011. On April 18, Tejada was recalled from the disabled list, but the Cardinals decided against keeping him as the starting shortstop, effectively assigning him to Tejada as a utility infielder.

Dáz scored 11–2 over the San Diego Padres on April 23, his first five-hit game in his first five-hit game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he hit two runs in his first two at bats in his first two at bats, giving him 26 hits in 52 at bats. In addition, defensive problems resurfaced: In D.Az' first 31 games of the season, he made nine mistakes. Nevertheless, he drew early praise for the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award; as of June 6, he was third in the NL in batting at.328 and had reached eight home runs with 30 RBIs. Delia Perez' return from the disabled list on June 7, D.Az's continued play prompted the Cardinals to move Perez to third base and third baseman Matt Carpenter to second base.

D'az' defense notably improved as the season progressed; in the remaining 51 games leading up to the All-Star break, he made six errors. He was named in his first MLB All-Star Game on July 7 to replace Carpenter, who had been hospitalized just days before. In the eighth inning, D'az was a pinch hitter with the bases loaded against Will Harris in the eighth inning, and the American League struck out against the National League, 412 to win by four innings. Daz batted against Carlos Villanueva in a 55 game on July 21 and then drove home the game-winning run for his first career walk-off hit.

The Cardinals placed D.Az on the DL after suffering a hairline fracture in his thumb during a game against Miami. He missed both of August and the first two weeks of September.

D'az' first grand slam was played on September 27, 2016, his first game back after the death of his childhood buddy, José Fernández. D.az was called back for a curtain call, where he raised his helmet to the sky. "I'll always think of him" after he put on a uniform, he said later. He made one mistake in his last 31 games of the season.

In his rookie year, D.300 batted.300, 28 doubles, 17 home runs, 69 RBIs, a.369 OBP, and a.510 SLG. With 16, he played 106 games at shortstop and was fourth in the league in errors. He came fifth in the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year poll.

D'az's first MLB multi-home run game on April 8, 2017, his first MLB multi-home run game, featured the big Mac Land sign at Busch Stadium, with one of them sticking to the "G" letter. The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Cardinals 10–4 in the Cincinnati Reds. Diaz began the season with a.217 batting average and rose in the month of May. After hitting.260/.396, seven home runs and 20 RBIs in 71 games, the Cardinals optioned him to Memphis on June 28. With the rise of rookie Paul DeJong, who finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year polling, he eventually lost his position as the Cardinals' starting shortstop. He was both a good batter and a skilled fielder. In the final game of the 2017 season, D'az tore his hamstring.

D. Az was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Toronto Blue Jays on December 1, 2017 for minor league outfielder J. Connor. B. Woodman. D.Az, Toronto's starting shortstop, was on the disabled list early in the season, with Troy Tulowitzki on the disabled list (DL). D.Az was admitted to the DL on May 8 with a left ankle sprain. He had batted.216/.431 with six home runs and 13 RBI over 110 plate appearances, his highest mark in the season. On June 1, he was activated. D'az batted.303/.453 in 130 games for the season, with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs.

The Blue Jays traded D.Az to the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league pitcher Trent Thornton on November 17, 2018. During his time as an Astro, D.Az, the team's utility player, began playing at shortstop and started playing in three new positions in the major leagues – second base, first base, and left field. With nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 210 at bats in 2019, he batted.368/.467.

With three home runs and six RBIs in 58 at bats, he batted.241/.483.483.483 in 2020.

In a game against the Blue Jays on June 6, 2021, D.A. suffered a fractured his left hand on a hit by pitch from Ross Stripling. Daz was supposed to miss six to eight weeks. He batted.259/.405 in 294 at bats during the 2021 regular season. In Game 3's eighth inning, D.az hit a single to right field to put an end to the Atlanta Braves' no-hit streak.

Dwaz, the Astros' arbitration lawyer, refused to litigate until 2022, 2022, after agreeing to a $4.45 million contract for the season. D.C.'s grand slam against the Detroit Tigers in May 8, 2022, was enough to lead a 5–0 victory by the Astros. On June 4, he began at third base and homered to lead a 10–3 victory over the Kansas City Royals and added two singles in his first three-hit game of the season. After defeating a two-run home run and walking twice, D.az singled out and scored in the ninth versus the Los Angeles Angels on July 12, triggering a four-run comeback. On July 29, he homered twice against the Seattle Mariners to help fuel an 11–1 victory. Dáz started shortstop against Cleveland on August 6, doubling twice and then driving in a single run. D'az scored his second grand slam of the season on August 9, the Astros' second grand slam of the season against Martn Pérez of the Texas Rangers, bringing the Astros from a 4–0 deficit to a 7–5 victory.

D.Az suspended himself from a game against the Chicago White Sox due to a groin injury, and the following day, he was placed on the 10-day injured list. On September 13, he was first activated.

With 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, he batted.243/.403 in 305 at bats in 2022. He played 28 games in left field, 22 at second base, 18 at third base, 10 at third base, 7 at DH, 6 at first base, and one in right field.

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