As per
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Former #Braves OF Matt Diaz drawing interest from #Yankees and a few other teams
Non-tendered by the Braves on Thursday, Diaz is a lefty-mashing corner-outfielder. I
discussed him a bit as a potential target for the Yankees on Friday. For the sake of your mouse-clicking finger, here's a re-post of my sentiments:
Diaz is the first of three players that could fill the void left by Marcus Thames - a destroyer of southpaws. The former Brave batted .273/.318/.512 against lefties in 2010, well below his career line of .335/.373/.533. He's also a decent corner outfielder, so he could fill in for Gardner or Swisher if the need arose.
While I wouldn't be too enthusiastic about Diaz manning left or right-field for an extended period of time, he's a more capable defender than Thames, and I do think his bat would play similarly. Signing Diaz would not be a real impact move, but it would certainly improve the bench a great deal.
