After opting out, Isan Diaz is back and wants to help Marlins win 'no matter what'

Sep. 12--It was just over a month ago, in the midst of his team's COVID-19 outbreak, when Miami Marlins second baseman Isan Diaz opted out of the season. He called the decision a "difficult choice" but "the best one for me and my overall well-being" in an Aug. 1 Instagram story post.

Between then and now, though, Diaz had a change of heart. He applied for reinstatement, began working at the Marlins' alternate training site in Jupiter on Sept. 1 and was cleared by the league to rejoin the team Wednesday. Miami added him to the active roster Thursday prior to their five-day, seven-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park that starts a 15-game homestand.

Diaz, speaking publicly Friday for the first time since opting out, didn't dive into details about what led to his decision to opt out but expressed his gratitude to both the Marlins organization and his teammates for allowing him to come back.

"Really excited to be here again," said Diaz, who joins the Atlanta Braves'Nick Markakis as the only player who opted out of the season to subsequently be reinstated. "It was very tough. Obviously tough decisions, tough things that have gone on the past few months. But things happen. You just move on. Now, I'm back. A lot of things personally were personal and kind of really happy that I'm able to come back. I thank the Marlins organization for that and my teammates as well for accepting me back as well. It's been a heck of a year."

Diaz's initial decision to opt out came after the first weekend of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and toward the end of the Marlins' week-long quarantine in a Philadelphia hotel after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Diaz, one of four players acquired as part of the Christian Yelich trade and the player the Marlins organization views as their second baseman of the future, spent the next month at home.

His teammates, meanwhile, have played themselves into the postseason picture. The Marlins (20-19) entered Friday's doubleheader a half-game behind the Phillies (21-19) for second place in the NL East. MLB's expanded playoff format for this season has the top two teams in each division and the next best two teams in each league advancing to the playoffs.

"Listen, it was obviously great to watch the games and watch the guys compete and go out and win games," said Diaz, who hit .173 with five home runs, 23 RBI and 17 runs scored in 49 games in his rookie season last year. "To me, it was more that I wanted to be out there with them. I missed being out there with them and competing no matter what happens. It was a long time waiting to come back, but we're here and just going to try to continue to help the team win no matter what."

Exactly what Diaz's role will be moving forward or how much playing he'll receive is to be determined. Jazz Chisholm, the fourth-ranked prospect in the Marlins' organization and a left-handed hitter like Diaz, has been taking the bulk of the reps at second base with Miguel Rojas as the team's full-time shortstop.

Diaz took some reps at third base while in Jupiter, but Marlins manager Don Mattingly said that's to make sure Diaz is comfortable if needed to play there in an emergency situation.

One thing's certain: There are still a lot of games to play. Miami has 21 games, including the two on Friday, left over the final 17 days of the season. They have four doubleheaders in a 10-game stretch. Players will need off days. Starts in the field will be rotated at times to keep everyone as fresh as possible for the playoff run.

"We need all of our guys," Mattingly said. "We're going to need Isan. We're going to need Jazz. .... Anyone who is on our roster, we're going to need them to do their part."

Mattingly also noted that at this time of the year, with the Marlins in the thick of a postseason race as the regular season winds down, the focus needs to be more on the collective effort than individual results.

"It's just understanding where you're at [and] where we're at as a team," Mattingly said. "Where do you fit into this mix? It's as simple as that. Just really communicating with him and understanding where he's at and what we're thinking. In terms of Isan, the conversation was 'Hey, you're ready to play. You're part of this group. There are days that you're going to be in there.There are days where you're not going to be in there. No matter what it is, you have to stay ready at any point because you could be in the game.'

Mattingly added: "Being in a pennant race, guys realize it's not just about them. Guys have to be ready to play. It's more about a group trying to accomplish something. It's really good for our young players. It's always exciting for our older guys because they're in a race. They like that. But the younger guys, it gets past themselves."

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