Reds claim 1B Walker off waivers; Diaz DFA'd

March 6th, 2017

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds claimed first baseman/outfielder off waivers from the Braves on Monday. To make room on the 40-man roster, reliever Jumbo Diaz was designated for assignment.
Walker was with Atlanta briefly after that club got him from Baltimore on Feb. 25, after he was designated for assignment. A right-handed hitter, Walker is a .148 hitter over 13 big league games with the Orioles in parts of the 2014-15 seasons.
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Last season with Triple-A Norfolk, the 25-year-old Walker batted .264/.321/.437 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs.
Diaz struggled in his three appearances this spring, with a 9.00 ERA (eight runs, three earned) and seven hits allowed. The 33-year-old gave up two homers for four runs in his last outing on Friday vs. the Cubs.
On Sunday, Diaz left to join the Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz reached the big leagues with the Reds in 2014 after a dozen years in the Minors. In '16, he had three stints with Cincinnati and posted a 3.14 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 45 appearances. Diaz retired 30 of 45 first batters faced and allowed six of his 19 inherited runners to score.