HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Yainer Diaz was never going to start Sunday's series finale against the Rays, even after he finished 2-for-5 with a home run during Saturday's 17-4 drubbing.
"I already had it planned," Baker said Sunday morning of his lineup. "Meyers had a big day too, he had three hits and he's not in there."
Saturday is the only game of the four since Diaz has started since Yordan Alvarez returned from his oblique injury, and while there will be opportunities for Diaz to DH, Baker reiterated Martín Maldonado will get the bulk of the starts behind home plate.
"Like Dana (Brown) said, (Diaz) is the future, it's just that sometimes you have to prepare them in the present for the future," Baker said. "You don't want to overwhelm them, but he's learning from Maldy, and "Maldy's still the guy, for now."
Maldonado can't come close to replicating Diaz's offensive production, but the Astros believe Maldonado's presence and experience behind the plate is more important than Diaz's .858 OPS at it since June 1.
"Everybody is going to pass the torch at some time to the next generation, and in the meantime you teach them as you're exiting and as another's coming," Baker said. "Everybody's looking for the new right now and just push the old out of there. That's the way of the world, but that's the way that's wrong, I think."
Maldonado's contract expires after the season, so the torch could be passed to Diaz sooner than some might think, though not as fast as some fans may want.
