Jhonathan DÃaz
Jhonathan Alexander DÃaz is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners. DÃaz signed with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in 2013.
Career
Boston Red Sox
DÃaz signed with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent on August 9, 2013, for a $600,000 signing bonus. When he signed, he could throw almost as fast as a right-handed pitcher, though he has not been a switch pitcher professionally. He spent his professional debut season of 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox, going 6–2 with a 1.63 ERA over innings. He did not play in 2015 due to a knee injury. He spent the 2016 season with the GCL Red Sox, going 4–4 with a 2.85 ERA with 57 strikeouts over 60 innings. He advanced to the High-A Greenville Drive in 2017, going 6–6 with a 4.57 ERA with 80 strikeouts over innings. DÃaz returned to Greenville in 2018, making one start for the Salem Red Sox in June. He was a combined 11–9 with a 3.09 ERA with 151 strikeouts over innings in 2019. DÃaz spent the 2019 season with Salem, going 9–8 with a 3.86 ERA and 118 strikeouts over innings. He played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season.DÃaz did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He elected free agency on November 2, 2020.
Los Angeles Angels
On November 17, 2020, DÃaz signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He started the 2021 season with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas before being promoted to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees in late August. He was a combined 5–6 with a 4.01 ERA and 92 strikeouts over innings in the minors.On September 17, 2021, DÃaz was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night versus the Oakland Athletics, allowing 2 runs while not finishing the second inning. He was promoted because Shohei Ohtani's scheduled start was delayed. In 3 appearances during his debut campaign, DÃaz allowed 6 runs on 11 hits with 9 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched.
DÃaz split time in 2022 between Anaheim and Salt Lake before an oblique injury ended his season in mid-June. In 4 games for the Angels, he recorded a 2.93 ERA with 11 strikeouts across innings of work. He was placed on Salt Lake's injured list on August 3 before moving to the Angels' 60-day injured list on September 4. On November 18, DÃaz was designated for assignment by the Angels. The team non-tendered him on the same day, making him a free agent.
On December 15, 2022, DÃaz re-signed with the Angels on a minor league contract. In 38 appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake in 2003, he had a 9–2 record and 4.55 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 87 innings. On September 7, the Angels promoted DÃaz. In 4 appearances for the Angels, he struggled to a 10.29 ERA with 4 strikeouts in 7 innings. Following the season on October 16, DÃaz was removed from the 40-man roster. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.
Seattle Mariners
On January 9, 2024, DÃaz signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He started the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers and was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Month for April. On May 22, the Mariners added DÃaz to their 40-man roster and optioned him back to Tacoma. The roster move prevented DÃaz from exercising an opt-out clause in his contract. On June 11, the Mariners called up DÃaz to replace scratched starter Bryan Woo. After allowing 3 runs in innings, he was sent back down to Tacoma. He was called up by the Mariners three more times in 2024 and pitched in four games in relief in the second half of the season. He finished the year with an 0–1 record, a 4.66 ERA, and 8 strikeouts in innings for the Mariners. DÃaz also had his most durable and effective Triple-A season yet, going 9–3 with a 4.36 ERA and 120 strikeouts in innings for Tacoma.DÃaz pitched for the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Puerto Rican winter league. He was named the league's pitcher of the year after going 4–0 with a 0.49 ERA in six starts. DÃaz was designated for assignment by the Mariners on February 3, 2025. He elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment on February 7. DÃaz re-signed with Seattle on a minor league contract on February 12. On April 1, the Mariners selected DÃaz's contract, adding him to their active roster. He pitched a scoreless innings in a loss to the Detroit Tigers that night, his only major league appearance of the season. He was sent down to Triple-A two days later. He returned to the majors for six days in May, but didn't pitch in a game. In the minors, he was a postseason Pacific Coast League All-Star, leading the league with a 4.15 ERA and collecting 11 wins, tied for most in the league.
DÃaz was designated for assignment by Seattle on January 23, 2026. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma on January 28. DÃaz elected free agency the following day.