From Salt Lake to Washington

It was only two years ago that Amalio Diaz was so close to the major leagues, and pitching so well, that he expected to be the next player called into the office of the Sale Lake Bees manager and receive word of a promotion to Anaheim, Calif.

Diaz, a right-handed relief pitcher, was in his second year in Class AAA at Salt Lake, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, and had seen teammates such as Hank Conger, Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos receive call-ups to the majors.

“I was pitching very well as a reliever in the first half of the season. I was thinking this was my year to finally make it to the major leagues,” Diaz said Saturday afternoon. “I had pitched about 30 innings, given up only one or two earned runs and walked just two or three batters. My ERA was low.

“Then, I started seeing guys who I thought were below me get called me. That’s when I started thinking, ‘OK, this isn’t going to happen.’ I was wondering what more I needed to do to get called up to the big leagues. Then I didn’t pitch nearly as well over the second half of the season and the Angels just gave up on me one day.”

Diaz never did get called up to the major leagues, and today he’s trying to rebuild his career as a pitcher with the Wild Things. Diaz signed Friday with Washington – though he had been working out with the team for a week – and made his debut in the second game of the Wild Things’ doubleheader sweep of the Frontier League Greys. Diaz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned a save in a 4-1 victory.

He followed that with an impressive eighth inning Saturday night, striking out the side on only 10 pitches.

With 62 games, including 13 starts and nine wins at Class AAA, along with another 62 games (30 starts) in Class AA, Diaz is the most experienced pitcher the Wild Things have ever signed. He’s only 26 years old but has eight years of professional baseball experience.

Diaz finished that 2011 season with a 4-2 record and 5.85 ERA for Salt Lake and was allowed to become a minor-league free agent.

Without an offer from a major league organization, Diaz signed last year with the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers, where his manager was Bart Zeller, who has the same job with the Wild Things. Diaz had a fantastic year, saving 19 games and striking out 40 batters in 34 1/3 innings. He had his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-August, but pitched in only five games in low-Class A and was released after the season.

After playing on the Venezuelan Winter League championship team – where his teammates included major leaguers Pablo Sandoval, Jose Altuve and Elvis Andrus – and a short stint in the Mexican League this spring, Diaz was back home in Arizona hoping that some team, any team, would give him an opportunity to pitch again. That offer finally came from Zeller, who was looking to bolster the back of the Wild Things’ bullpen.

“I had a good relationship with him last year,” Diaz said of Zeller. “He asks you to play hard all the time, and that’s what I believe you have to do. You never know who is going to be sitting behind home plate watching you pitch. You never know when a scout is going to offer you a chance in affiliated ball. I’d like another opportunity.”

Zeller said he likes Diaz’s professional, your-not-going-to-to-defeat-me attitude, which is the perfect mentality for a closer.

“Amalio is a Jekyll and Hyde type of guy. Before the game and during batting practice, he has a good sense of humor and is loose. But when he walks across the white line, there’s nobody who is more businesslike than him.

“Guys who have been in Double-A and Triple-A usually don’t come to the Frontier League with a passion. This guy, however, he has it. I can’t say enough good things about him. When I found out that he was available, I called him and said let’s see what we can do. He honestly wanted to come here.”