A’s roster moves: Daz Cameron recalled, Esteury Ruiz to IL

And infielder Jordan Diaz DFA’d

The Athletics announced a roster move just a few hours before their series finale against the Colorado Rockies, promoting outfielder Daz Cameron to the big league club while placing fellow outfielder Esteury Ruiz on the IL:

This will be Cameron’s first stint with the club in his career. Once considered a top prospect in the sport, the 27-year old is the son of former outfielder Mike Cameron so he comes from a baseball family. Drafted 37th overall in the 2015 draft, the younger Cameron is probably best known as one of the main return pieces in the Verlander Tigers-to-Astros trade. Cameron’s time in a Tigers uniform went about as bad as possible as he slashed just .201/.266/.330 with just 5 home runs in 73 games in a Tigers uniform. He’s generally hit well in Triple-A though and provides great defense in the outfield. Maybe Cameron could be the next diamond in the rough that the A’s stumble upon.

Ruiz is dealing with a wrist problem that has clearly been affecting him at the plate. He returned from the minor leagues in spectacular fashion with a home run in his first game back but hasn’t provided much else recently. Hopefully the crux of that problem is this wrist issue and he can get it sorted out in Triple-A.

Alas, to make room on the 40-man roster the club designated infielder Jordan Diaz for assignment. Once considered a top-10 prospect in the Athletics organization, Diaz was given 90 games last year to prove he could hit major league pitching but struggled on both sides of the ball. Never considered Matt Chapman at third, the hope was that if he hit enough he could cover up his lackluster fielding at the hot corner. He seemed overmatched though and this season at Vegas he’s hitting a paltry .204/.288/.327 with two home runs. And considering he’s in the hitter-friendly PCL and surrounded by solid players in the lineup, it’s easy to see why the A’s are finally cutting bait on the Jordan Diaz experiment. Before the season he might have gotten claimed off waivers but with his performance this season he might clear waivers. We’ll find out soon enough.