You have to wonder where the Rangers would be without Elias Diaz. He was nowhere on the Rangers radar when the season started. 

Diaz started the season with the Royals, played ten games, hit .227 but had a decent .852 OPS. Still, Kansas City cut him. Luckily for the Rangers, it was around the same time the Rangers lost Danny Jansen to a forearm strain.

He was the kind of waiver wire pickup every team does all season long just to fill in as a stop gap, not expecting much, and expecting to cut when the injured guy gets back.

The injured guy is due back soon. Good luck getting Diaz out of the lineup when Jansen comes back. Since joining the Rangers, the 35-year-old catcher has played 23 games for Texas. With his 2-for-4 last night in the Rangers 8-3 win over the Angels, he’s hitting .306 and has been the catalyst for the Rangers recent winning. 

Not only has Diaz snatched Jansen’s job, he seemed to have pushed Kyle Higashioka out of the picture as well, getting the lion’s share of starts behind the plate, and even some as DH.

Diaz is a lifetime .247 hitter, with a lifetime OPS+ of 82. He’s performing way above that with Texas. Ride it as long as it lasts. In his twelfth year in major league baseball, Diaz is enjoying his best season. And Texas is the beneficiary.

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