Dodgers: Top Prospect Involved in Manny Machado Trade Returns to LA
The Dodgers announced their non-roster invitees for the upcoming 2023 Spring Training. Among the 26 players was none other than Yusniel Diaz — yes, that Yusniel Diaz.
Diaz was the headlining prospect of the Dodgers’ trade for SS Manny Machado back in 2018, and was expected to turn into a star in the league. However, in November, he was released by the Baltimore Orioles. Now, he’s found his way back to Los Angeles, the team that signed him out of Cuba in 2015.
Diaz was the Dodgers’ No. 5 prospect in 2018, when he headlined the package for Machado. In addition to Diaz, the Orioles also got RHPs Dean Kremer and Zach Pop, 3B Rylan Bannon and INF Breylic Valera.
Kremer is the only player still on the Orioles from the deal. He’s turned into the best prospect in that deal, as he had a career-year in 2022, sporting a 3.23 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 21 starts.
Pop has also been able to carve out a solid career with the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. Last year, he had a combined 2.77 ERA in 35 relief appearances across the two teams.
As for Diaz, he hasn’t found any success in the league yet. However, still just 26 years old, he’ll hope to revitalize his career with the team that initially took a chance on him. We’ll see if he can make a name for himself at Spring Training.
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This should be a lesson to all that keep saying don’t trade any prospects! Think back to all the yelling and screaming about the Mookie Betts trade and/or any other deal the Dodgers had ever made. Prospects are suspects until they prove they can play at the MLB level.