The Royals signed Diaz to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz is expected to report to Royals camp next week. The 35-year-old appeared in 106 regular-season contests for the Padres last season, slashing .204/.270/.337 with nine long balls. Unless the Royals carry three catchers on their Opening Day roster, Diaz is likely ticketed for Triple-A Omaha.

The Padres declined Diaz's (oblique) $7 million club option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz posted a .607 OPS across 283 regular-season plate appearances in 2025 -- his worst mark since 2019. Rather than pay him $7 million to likely act as a backup in 2026, the Friars will instead give the 34-year-old a $2 million buyout and send him into free agency. His defense should still be enough for him to draw interest from other clubs, but he doesn't offer much fantasy upside at this stage in his career.

Diaz (oblique) is not on the Padres' wild-card roster.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz suffered a minor oblique strain during Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks and wasn't able to progress enough to be included on the team's wild-card roster. The Padres will carry three catchers, with Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano behind starter Freddy Fermin.

Diaz's status for Tuesday's wild-card series opener versus the Cubs is in question due to a strained oblique, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz tweaked his oblique during Saturday's 12-4 win over the Diamondbacks. The Padres don't believe the injury is serious, but Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano will travel with the team to Chicago as insurance in case Diaz isn't included on the roster for the wild-card round. Diaz is the clear No. 2 catcher for the Padres behind Freddy Fermin, but he has served as the personal catcher this season for Nick Pivetta, who is slated to start Game 1 of the series.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 12-3 win over the Twins.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz opened with a 405-foot solo shot off Taj Bradley in the fifth inning and later added a two-run blast in the seventh for his second career multi-homer game. The long balls were the veteran's seventh and eighth of the season. Despite the breakout, Diaz has gone just 6-for-28 over his last 10 games, driving in only 2 runs outside of Saturday.

Diaz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz put the Padres ahead 2-1 in the third inning with his homer, but that was the extent of their scoring. He's seen limited playing time in August, as Freddy Fermin has taken over as San Diego's top catcher. Diaz has gone 3-for-19 (.158) over seven games this month, so he's not doing much to make a stronger case for playing time. Overall, the 34-year-old backstop has a .198/.269/.308 slash line with six homers, 24 RBI, 29 runs scored and seven doubles across 253 plate appearances this season.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

EDGE Analysis

After he appeared to briefly overtake Martin Maldonado as the Padres' preferred catching option toward the end of July, Diaz may be back in the No. 2 role for the rest of the season with San Diego bringing in Freddy Fermin from Kansas City ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Fermin was on the bench for Friday's 4-1 win but will end up starting the final two games of the series with St. Louis while Diaz sits out.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Diaz may have at least temporarily overtaken Martin Maldonado as the Padres' top catcher. Diaz started in each of the Friars' last three games, going 3-for-12 with a double, five RBI and two runs.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Nationals.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz chased MacKenzie Gore with a two-run homer in the third inning and later added a single in the seventh. It was a much-needed effort for the 34-year-old, who entered Sunday in an 0-for-17 slump to begin July. For the year, he's slashing just .198/.270/.307 with five home runs, 16 RBI and 23 runs scored across 214 plate appearances while sharing time behind the plate with Martin Maldonado.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

EDGE Analysis

Diaz had gone 0-for-8 with three walks and five strikeouts over his previous four games. The catcher was able to do some damage Sunday, stretching the Padres' lead to 7-2 with a ninth-inning homer, his first long ball since May 4 versus the Pirates. Diaz is now at a .219/.292/.336 slash line with four homers, five doubles, 10 RBI, 20 runs scored and no stolen bases over 162 plate appearances. He has been in a fairly even timeshare with Martin Maldonado since the start of June, as neither backstop is doing much consistently with the bat, though Maldonado has the slight edge in playing time over the last week.