Argenis Díaz (born February 12, 1987) is a Venezuelan former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in 2010.

Playing career

Boston Red Sox

Díaz was signed by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

organization in July 2003 as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He started his professional career by playing with the

Venezuelan Summer League Red Sox The Venezuelan Summer League Red Sox, sometimes called the VSL Red Sox, were a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), playing in the foreign Venezuelan Summer League (VSL). The team, classed as a Roo ...

in 2004 and 2005 (the latter year's team being a cooperative with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

). He played for the

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

in 2006. In 2007, Díaz played for Class A

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West En ...

, batting .279 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 40

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs) in 99 games. He spent 2008 with the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

and the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

of Double-A, batting a combined .284 with two home runs and 52 RBIs in 110 games. Díaz returned to Portland in 2009, appearing in 76 games through July, compiling a .253 average with 24 RBIs.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 22, 2009, Díaz was traded along with

Hunter Strickland Hunter Drew Strickland (born September 24, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Ta ...

to the

for first baseman

Adam LaRoche David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks ...

. With Pittsburgh's Triple-A team, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, Díaz appeared in 43 games through the end of the season, batting .233 with eight RBIs. On April 22, 2010, Díaz made his major league debut for the Pirates; he went 0-for-1 with a groundout as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in the 9th inning against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. With the 2010 Pirates, Díaz appeared in 22 MLB games, batting .242 with two RBIs. Defensively, he played 15 games at shortstop and had a .971

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Díaz also played in 80 Triple-A games with Indianapolis, batting .248 with 22 RBIs.

Late career

Díaz signed as a minor league free agent with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

on December 20, 2010. He played in Triple-A with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons. Díaz signed a minor league deal with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

on December 2, 2013. He played with the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

until his release by the Reds on June 18, 2014. On June 21, 2014, Díaz signed a minor league deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, and finished the season with the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

and Double-A

Mobile Bay Bears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

. Díaz elected free agency on November 6, 2015. On January 20, 2016, the Tigers signed Díaz to a minor league contract. He spent the 2016 season with Toledo, and split time during 2017 with Toledo and the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

. Díaz was released on August 12, 2017. Díaz played a total of 14 minor-league seasons from 2004 to 2017, appearing in at least 1226 minor-league games (statistics from his first season in the

Venezuelan Summer League The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball sports league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, a ...

are not available).

Coaching career

In January 2020, Díaz was named a coach for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Argenis 1987 births Living people Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Honolulu Sharks players Indianapolis Indians players Lancaster JetHawks players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Mobile BayBears players Navegantes del Magallanes players People from Guatire Sportspeople from Miranda (state) Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Sea Dogs players Reno Aces players Rochester Red Wings players Toledo Mud Hens players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Ciudad Alianza players Venezuelan Summer League Red Sox/Padres players