Red Sox Sign Former Dodger Farmhand Diaz

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 in 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 Dodger system, Diaz had 65 homers, 219 runs batted in 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 batted .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 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.

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