Prospect Díaz eyes long-term stint in the bigs

MIAMI -- Ideally, Lewin Díaz would be playing every day at Triple-A Jacksonville to continue getting regular reps. But when first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper landed on the injured list Wednesday, the Marlins recalled their No. 5 prospect.

Manager Don Mattingly said Díaz can spell Jesús Aguilar when he needs a day off. More often than not, he will come off the bench -- or even pinch-run for Aguilar if a situation calls for it. Díaz will find ways to make the most of it, taking batting practice on the field and fielding grounders at first base. He also can pick the brains of the veterans on the club like Aguilar, Miguel Rojas, Starling Marte, Sandy Alcantara and Sandy León. Their best advice so far? Stay relaxed and have fun.

"I like to after BP, go inside, check with the guys," Díaz said via an interpreter. "I want to talk to the guys a lot, and most importantly, during the games, you've got game situations, so I'm inside the dugout just talking to the guy. 'Why did this happen? Why is that?' So I'm asking questions. And during games also when we get to the late innings, I go inside the cage, start warming up, getting ready for any pinch-hit situation."

The 24-year-old is considered the first baseman of the future, and he debuted in 2020. Over 14 games, he went 6-for-39 (.154) with two doubles, two walks and 12 strikeouts. Díaz was recalled for one game two weeks ago when Miami had a few players go down with injuries and needed to protect its short bench.

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At the Triple-A level, Díaz (.800 OPS) and No. 6 prospect Jesús Sánchez (1.025 OPS) have produced as middle-of-the-order bats in the Jacksonville lineup. Across 28 games, Díaz has a slash line of .236/.309/.491 with seven doubles, seven homers and 18 RBIs. Prior to this recent callup, he had gone deep in three straight contests from June 4-6. Sánchez has the second-most homers (eight) and fourth-highest OPS among Triple-A East players.

"It was a lot of fun," Díaz said. "We used to even plan before the game like, 'OK, you're going to get two hits, I get two hits. You get two home runs, I get two home runs.' It's something we were planning before the game, and it became something really fun just to play with him."

Following Thursday's win over the Rockies, Mattingly said he doesn't anticipate Cooper's lumbar strain lasting too long after the required 10 days on the injured list. Díaz will head back down upon Cooper's return. He and other prospects are currently blocked by veterans, but much can change by season's end.

"The main goal will be staying here at the Major League level, not going up and down all the time, but being able to take my opportunity to stay up here and take advantage of that," Díaz said. "And just maintain myself staying healthy. Those two things: play in the big leagues and stay healthy."