By Howard Ulman. .c The Associated Press
FORT MYERS, Fla. 4 (AP) - Cuban first baseman Juan Diaz had a promising career with the Dodgers until they got caught for illegal scouting. Now his future is with the Red Sox.
Diaz, declared a free agent by the commissioner's office last June, signed with Boston on Saturday. He's expected to report to the Red Sox minor-league camp this week.
In three seasons in the Los Angeles system, Diaz had 65 homers, 219 RBIs and batted .267 with a .503 slugging percentage. In 254 at bats last season at Double-A San Antonio, he had nine homers and 52 RBIs and hit .303.
``We followed him the past couple of years with the Dodgers and we liked his power potential,'' Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette said. ``We're always looking for legitimate right-handed power hitters.''
The 6-foot-2, 228-pound Diaz, 24, had an impressive workout with the Red Sox last July 20 before a game against Florida at Fenway Park. So why did it take so long for him to sign?
``They thought they should get a lot more money,'' Duquette said.
Diaz didn't play in the minors after becoming a free agent, played winter ball in Mexico and was seen by Red Sox scouts a few weeks ago in the Dominican Republic, where he now lives, Duquette said.
``He would probably benefit from another half season at Double-A,'' said Duquette, who feels Diaz could be in Boston's major-league camp next February. ``If he can hit the ball out of the ballpark at the rate he's been doing it in the minors, he should have a bright future.''
Diaz has struck out 330 times in 1,155 minor league at bats, but he's improved since striking out 156 times in 463 at bats in 1997, his first pro season.
Diaz and Cuban outfielder Josue Perez were declared free agents and the Dodgers were fined for breaking rules barring scouting in Cuba or engineering defections. Perez later signed with Philadelphia.
Dodgers scout Pablo Peguero reportedly visited Cuba and helped the two obtain visas to go to the Dominican Republic, where they joined the Dodgers' academy.
But after speaking with other Cuban players, they concluded that the Dodgers had taken advantage of them.
At a news conference last June, Diaz, with his agent Gus Dominguez interpreting, said, ``I am grateful to the Dodgers for helping us get out of Cuba, but at the same time, there are mixed feelings because we were lied to and told to lie to everybody else.
``We were never given a chance to be seen by other teams, the way other Cuban players were, and were never given a fair chance to sign with any other team.''
Both Cubans signed with the Dodgers for less than the going rate for promising prospects - Diaz for $65,000 in 1996 and Perez for $40,000 in 1997.
AP-NY-03-04-00 1530EST
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
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