To the people in attendance at Regions Field in Birmingham, it might not have seemed like a big deal when Edwin Diaz entered the game for the Class AA Jackson Generals to pitch the eighth inning.
But for the Seattle Mariners, it represented a major shift in the future of one of their top pitching prospects. Diaz, the organization’s minor league starting pitcher of the year for the last two seasons, began the process of being converted to reliever with that one-inning appearance.
General manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed the change late Tuesday night and discussed it with the media before Wednesday’s game.