Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Yofrec Diaz

Yofrec Diaz
Diaz with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars
Yokohama DeNA BayStars – No. 93
Pitcher
Born: (1999-06-10) June 10, 1999 (age 25)
Venezuela
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
NPB debut
June 8, 2024, for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars
NPB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss Record0-0
Earned Run Average0.00
Strikeouts1
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Yofrec Diaz (born June 10, 1999) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Career

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Diaz passed a tryout in the Dominican Republic and the Director Tatsuya Shindo inspected and acquired him.[1] On November 20, 2019, he signed a development contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars[2] with the uniform number 109.[3]

Kanagawa Future Dreams

On June 18, 2020, both teams announced that Diaz would be sent to the Kanagawa Future Dreams of the Baseball Challenge League (BCL) along with other development players, excluding Kenjiro Tanaka.[4]

In 2021, his arrival in Japan was delayed until April 3 due to the spread of COVID-19.[5] On May 14, it was announced that he would be sent back to the Kanagawa Future Dreams of the BC League for the second consecutive year along with Starlin and Frandy Delarosa.[6] He pitched in eight official Eastern League games, with a record of two wins and one loss and an ERA of 2.37.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars (second stint)

On January 8, 2022, Diaz arrived in Japan, but tested positive for COVID-19 in a PCR test at the Narita Airport, despite being asymptomatic, and was quarantined at a government-designated facility.[7] He pitched in spring training, but on April 11, the team announced that he had undergone reconstruction surgery on the medial collateral ligament in his left elbow at a hospital in Yokohama.[8] He did not pitch in any official games for the team, including the farm team, during the season, and became a free agent after the season ended due to regulations.[9] However, he re-signed on November 29.[10]

In 2023, he made his return on August 18 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the Eastern League, pitching in five games.[11] He returned to Japan on November 5 and participated in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the offseason.[12] On November 19, he re-signed, as he had done the previous year.[13] His estimated annual salary is 6.6 million yen (equal to $46,372 in US dollars).[14]

In 2024, he pitched in 14 games in the Eastern League, with a record of zero wins, one loss, one save, and an ERA of 3.29. Due to the fact that the first-team pitchers were suffering from injuries and poor performance, he signed a contract with Hayato Horioka on June 8,[15] and joined the first team the same day.[16] His uniform number was changed to 93.[17] On the same day, in a game against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (at the Yokohama Stadium), he made his first appearance in the first team in the top of the ninth inning, with one out and runners on first and second, just after the team was behind, and held the runners without allowing them to return. However, his new uniform number did not arrive in time, so he pitched with a three-digit uniform number.[18] After that, he had a gap of nearly a month between appearances, and on July 3 against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, he pitched as the second pitcher with the team leading by one point. He pitched well against the team's core, striking out all three batters in the first inning[19] and recording his first hold.[20] After pitching in two games, he was removed from the roster on the 13th.[21]

Notes

References

  1. ^ "DeNA acquires new foreign development players Delarosa and Diaz". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  2. ^ "Announcement of acquisition of Jofreck Diaz". Yokohama DeNA Baystars (in Japanese). 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  3. ^ Masaaki Suzuki (2020-01-28). "DeNA's new foreigner's left arm is a stone "Damatte, Nageldake"". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  4. ^ "Regarding player dispatch from Yokohama DeNA BayStars". Kanagawa Future Dreams (in Japanese). 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  5. ^ "DeNA Escobar and two foreign players coming to Japan to join after quarantine". Kanaroko by Kanagawa Shimbun (in Japanese). 2021-04-05. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  6. ^ "DeNA dispatches trained foreigners Diaz, Cordero, and de la Rosa to BC Kanagawa". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  7. ^ "DeNA Diaz has tested positive in PCR test and is currently being quarantined at a government-designated facility". Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 2022-01-09. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  8. ^ "[DeNA] Developmental left-hander Diaz undergoes reconstructive surgery on the medial collateral ligament of his left elbow, and his return this season is hopeless". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  9. ^ "2022 free agent players (development players)". NPB.jp Japan Baseball Organization (in Japanese). 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  10. ^ "2023 season contract players". Yokohama DeNA Baystars (in Japanese). 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  11. ^ "DeNA, Diaz returns to Japan, 4th year of training, pitches in 5 games at Eastern". Kanaroko by Kanagawa Shimbun (in Japanese). 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  12. ^ "Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional". LVBP.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  13. ^ "2024 season contract players". Yokohama DeNA Baystars (in Japanese). 2023-11-19. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  14. ^ "[DeNA] 2024 Annual Salary List". Hochi Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  15. ^ "[DeNA] Two pitchers, Hayato Horioka and Diaz, are registered under control. In an emergency situation with many injuries, SNS posted "Save Bey!". NTV NEWS NNN (in Japanese). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  16. ^ "The Giants eliminate Rui Okoye, DeNA transfers Horioka & Diaz, who are registered under their control, to the 1st team... Announcement on the 8th". Full-Count (in Japanese). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  17. ^ "Jofreck Diaz and Hayato Horioka signed as controlled players". Yokohama DeNA Baystars Official Homepage (in Japanese). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  18. ^ "[DeNA] "Diaz Theater" opens, no points conceded in his first professional appearance under control, stirring up the audience with flashy fist pumps". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  19. ^ "DeNA Diaz pitched for the first time in about a month since his first pitching and was a good reliever, eliminating all three of Murakami, Santana, and Nagaoka". Sanspo (in Japanese). 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  20. ^ Yokohama DeNA Baystars [@ydb_yokohama] (July 3, 2024). "Congratulations🎉" (Tweet). Retrieved 2024-07-03 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "[Public announcement on the 13th] DeNA's Diaz readjusts, Orix's Oshiro is canceled due to tightness in his right thigh". Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yofrec_Diaz