Argenis DÃÂaz (born February 12, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010.
DÃÂaz was signed by the Boston Red Sox organization in July 2003 as an international free agent. He started his professional career by playing with the Venezuelan Summer League Red Sox in 2004 and 2005 (the latter year's team being a cooperative with the San Diego Padres). He played for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2006.
In 2007, DÃÂaz played for Class A Greenville Drive, batting .279 with two home runs and 40 runs batted in (RBIs) in 99 games. He spent 2008 with the Lancaster JetHawks of Class A-Advanced and the Portland Sea Dogs of Double-A, batting a combined .284 with two home runs and 52 RBIs in 110 games. DÃÂaz returned to Portland in 2009, appearing in 76 games through July, compiling a .253 average with 24 RBIs.
On July 22, 2009, DÃÂaz was traded along with Hunter Strickland to the Pittsburgh Pirates for first baseman Adam LaRoche. With Pittsburgh's Triple-A team, the Indianapolis Indians, DÃÂaz appeared in 43 games through the end of the season, batting .233 with eight RBIs.
On April 22, 2010, DÃÂaz made his major league debut for the Pirates; he went 0-for-1 with a groundout as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. With the 2010 Pirates, DÃÂaz appeared in 22 MLB games, batting .242 with two RBIs. Defensively, he played 15 games at shortstop and had a .971 fielding percentage. DÃÂaz also played in 80 Triple-A games with Indianapolis, batting .248 with 22 RBIs.
DÃÂaz signed as a minor league free agent with the Detroit Tigers on December 20, 2010. He played in Triple-A with the Toledo Mud Hens for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons.
DÃÂaz signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds on December 2, 2013. He played with the Triple-A Louisville Bats until his release by the Reds on June 18, 2014.
On June 21, 2014, DÃÂaz signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and finished the season with the Triple-A Reno Aces and Double-A Mobile Bay Bears. DÃÂaz elected free agency on November 6, 2015.
On January 20, 2016, the Tigers signed DÃÂaz to a minor league contract. He spent the 2016 season with Toledo, and split time during 2017 with Toledo and the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. DÃÂaz was released on August 12, 2017.
DÃÂaz played a total of 14 minor-league seasons from 2004 to 2017, appearing in at least 1226 minor-league games (statistics from his first season in the Venezuelan Summer League are not available).
In January 2020, DÃÂaz was named a coach for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.