Yandy Díaz Fernández (born August 8, 1991) is a Cuban-born professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Cuban career

Díaz began his career with the

Naranjas de Villa Clara The Azucareros de Villa Clara (Villa Clara Sugarmakers) is a baseball club that plays in the Cuban National Series. Based in Santa Clara, the Naranjas have been one of the league's most successful Cuban squads over the last 30 years; winning ...

in the 2008-09 Cuban National Series; at 16 years old, he registered two hits and two walks over seven plate appearances. The next year with Villa Clara, he slashed .292/.417/.351 in 67 games. In his final season with Villa Clara, he slashed .254/.399/.331 in 59 games. He was not included on the roster for the 2012–13 season, which saw Villa Clara win the championship. In 2013, at 21 years old, Diaz defected from Holguin, Cuba to

Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic San Fernando de Monte Cristi, also known as Montecristi, is the capital town of Monte Cristi Province in the Dominican Republic. It is located in the northwest region of the country in a coastal area above the border with Haiti. The town was at t ...

alongside his childhood friend Leandro Linares and another unnamed individual. He had made two prior attempts to defect, but had been caught and arrested by the Cuban government on both occasions. In August, he signed with the Cleveland Indians for $300,000.

American career

Minor Leagues

Díaz played for the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in 2014. Playing for the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park (Akron, Ohio) ...

of the Double–A Eastern League in 2015, Díaz was named an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

. The Indians promoted him to the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

in September, and assigned him to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the 2015 regular season. Díaz began the 2016 season with Akron and was subsequently promoted to Columbus, where he won the International League Rookie of the Year Award.

Cleveland Indians

Díaz earned a non-roster invitation to the Indians' 2017 major league spring training camp. After batting .458 (22-for-48) with a 1.252 OPS during spring training, and after injuries to other players forced the Indians to adjust their roster, Díaz was named the Indians' starting third baseman for the start of the 2017 season. Diaz played 49 games, slashing .262/.352/.327 predominantly playing third base. Diaz spent the 2018 season between Columbus and the Cleveland Indians, playing 39 games and slashing .312/.375/.422 with one home run and 15 RBIs.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 13, 2018, the Indians traded Díaz to the

in a three-team trade in which the Rays also acquired Cole Sulser for Jake Bauers, and the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

acquired

Edwin Encarnación Edwin Elpidio Encarnación Rivera (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleve ...

from the Indians for

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

. Díaz missed some time due to injury during the season, only accumulating 307 at bats. He did hit 14 home runs while driving in 38 runs. Díaz hit two home runs in the

2019 American League Wild Card Game The 2019 American League Wild Card Game was a playoff game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2019 postseason contested between the American League's two wild card teams, the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays. It was played on October 2, w ...

as the Rays defeated the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Although plagued by a hamstring injury in September 2020, Díaz appeared in 34 games of the abbreviated 2020 season, slashing .307/.428/.386 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI. In the 2022 season, Díaz hit .296/.401/.423, leading the Rays in

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

(.401),

OPS OPS may refer to: Organizations * Obscene Publications Squad, a former unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England * Oceanic Preservation Society * Office of Public Safety, a former US government agency * Orchestre philharmonique de Strasb ...

(.824), and OPS+ (142), and finished second only to Harold Ramírez in batting average. He received

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

votes for the first time in his career, finishing in a tie for 20th in voting. On January 31, 2023, he signed a three–year, $24 million contract extension with the Rays. Díaz was named to his first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

in 2023, when he was elected the American League starter at first base. In his first at-bat, he hit a solo home run to put the AL up 1-0, becoming the first Rays starter to homer in an All-Star Game and the first Cuban-born player to do so since Cookie Rojas in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. Diaz and his wife welcomed their first son the day after the All-Star Game. Diaz therefore flew into Seattle the morning of the All-Star Game, and flew back immediately afterward. He was officially placed on the paternity list on July 14. Díaz led the AL in batting average (beating out

Corey Seager Corey Drew Seager (born April 27, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is often regarded as one of the best sh ...

on the last day of the season) and in batting average on balls in play (.367), as he hit .330/.410/.522 with 22 home runs and 78 runs batted in. In doing so, he became the third Cuban-born player to win a batting title, after

Tony Oliva Tony Pedro Oliva Lopez (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter for the M ...

and Yuli Gurriel. Díaz finished 6th in

AL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League (baseball), National League. The award has been present ...

voting and also won the 2023

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

for AL first basemen. In 2024 Díaz had a 20-game

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pl ...

, breaking Jason Bartlett's record for the longest streak in Rays history. For the season he hit .281/.341/.414 with 14 home runs and 65 runs batted in. Díaz was announced as part of FEPCUBE's "Patria y Vida" team of expatriate Cuban ballplayers participating in the inaugural Intercontinental Series in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. On March 14, 2025, the Rays announced that the team option for the 2026 season on Díaz's contract had been picked up, and that a vesting option for 2027 had been added.

Personal life

His father, Jorge, also defected from Cuba to play professional baseball in the United States. Jorge Díaz briefly played in the Texas Rangers organization and spent the rest of his career in independent leagues. Yandy was six years old when he last saw his father. Diaz is of

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

descent. Díaz is married to his wife, Mayisleidis. They welcomed a son in July 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Yandy 1991 births Living people 21st-century Cuban sportsmen Akron RubberDucks players American League All-Stars American League batting champions Baseball players from Villa Clara Province Carolina Mudcats players Cleveland Indians players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Columbus Clippers players Defecting Cuban baseball players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball players from Cuba Major League Baseball third basemen Naranjas de Villa Clara players People from Sagua la Grande Scottsdale Scorpions players Silver Slugger Award winners Tampa Bay Rays players