The Rockies placed veteran catcher Elias Diaz on waivers Wednesday afternoon, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic . The process will be resolved on Friday. Diaz is eligible to play while he’s on waivers, though that’s immaterial with Colorado having a day off Thursday.
It’s possible (but not guaranteed) that this marks the end of his four-plus year stint in Denver. Waivers are irrevocable, so the Rockies cannot retract the placement if another team makes a claim. If he goes unclaimed, the Rox could simply retain him on the MLB roster for the last six weeks of the season.
Colorado reportedly expressed openness to moving Diaz before the trade deadline. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote at the time that the Rox weren’t planning to explore another extension with the impending free agent. Since the Rox are out of playoff contention, there was little reason for them not to try to get some kind of young talent in return.
Rosenthal writes that the Rockies didn’t find any team with significant interest in a trade, though, with Colorado ultimately holding him past the deadline. There’s no longer any chance for the Rockies to get anything in return for Diaz. MLB did away with the old August revocable waiver trade system back in 2019.
Any player who has been on a 40-man roster during the season cannot be traded after the deadline. The only benefit to Colorado in placing Diaz on waivers is possible cost savings. The 33-year-old catcher is playing this year on a $6M sala.