Díaz embraces leadership role on and off the field
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WEST SACRAMENTO -- As he took his lead off second base, Yandy Díaz made sure he got the attention of teammate Junior Caminero at the plate.
Caminero was up in a key spot on Monday against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, batting with Díaz on second, Jonathan Aranda aboard at first and nobody out with the Rays down 6-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Díaz gestured in Caminero’s direction, and the meaning was clear: Calm down.
Caminero, apparently, did. He promptly crushed the first pitch he saw for a three-run homer, cutting the deficit to one run and setting the stage for a 10-6 comeback win for Tampa Bay.
“That was a moment where I kind of took Cami by the hand and was trying to get him to be patient up at the plate, breathe, live in the moment, live in the at-bat,” Díaz said through Rays interpreter Kevin Vera. “That’s how I help.”
It was a perfect example of how Díaz, one of MLB’s most underrated hitters, has developed into a leader for the American League-best Rays. The veteran slugger has been instrumental on a team with a lot of young players, and not just for his on-field performance.
“To steer the ship, you’ve got to have a good captain,” Díaz said.
What better captain could there be than a guy with a career .292 batting average and enough power to leave the yard? Díaz illustrated that point with a leadoff home run on Monday, went yard again on Tuesday and started big Rays rallies on both Monday and Wednesday with base hits, including the decisive eighth of Tampa Bay’s comeback win.
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“With Yandy, I think if we could pick one person to start any inning, it would be him,” manager Kevin Cash said.
It may seem like just yesterday that Díaz burst onto the scene with the Rays in 2019, posting an .816 OPS in 79 games and slugging two home runs in the AL Wild Card Game against the same Athletics club he faced this week in West Sacramento (a performance that Díaz confirmed on Wednesday he will never forget).
Now, he’s a 10-year veteran who celebrated his 35th birthday on Saturday. Díaz will remain with the Rays in 2027 -- his 500th plate appearance of the year, an eighth-inning sacrifice fly on Monday, cashed his $13 million vesting option -- and has a chance to climb even higher on the franchise leaderboard. His opposite-field home run on Tuesday moved him past Ben Zobrist for sole possession of third place in career hits in Rays history, and Díaz picked up two more knocks to help his club complete a 9-0 road trip out West.
Most hits, Rays franchise history
Through Wednesday
- Carl Crawford: 1,480
- Evan Longoria: 1,471
- Yandy Díaz: 1,019
- Ben Zobrist: 1,016
- B.J. Upton: 910
“I’m really happy,” Díaz said of the milestone. “Now my name’s in the conversation with some of the Tampa Bay greats. I feel a lot of pride and a lot of satisfaction being here. It’s a good feeling.”
With 10 hits in his past four games, Díaz has resumed his regularly scheduled programming after an uncharacteristic cold spell: He batted just .213 with a .594 OPS in July.
But a hitter of Díaz’s caliber certainly has different standards for what constitutes a tough week or a bad month. Rays righty Drew Rasmussen, who reiterated his belief that Díaz is “the best pure hitter I’ve ever played with,” has gotten used to that by now.
“What makes me laugh about Yandy is that he’ll tell you he’s struggling, and you look at the box score and he was 1-for-3 with a walk,” Rasmussen said. “The next day he was 1-for-4, then he was 1-for-2 with two walks. And he’ll tell you, ‘Man, I just don’t feel right. I don’t feel right.’ You’re like, ‘I don’t know. Seems to be going OK.’”
With the Rays since 2021, Rasmussen has seen most of Díaz’s Rays career up close and has seen the leadership role Díaz takes for Tampa Bay. While Díaz maintains that he “hasn’t done a lot of great things” when it comes to being the captain he described, his positive mindset isn’t lost on anyone. Nor is his play on the field.
“He’s the best,” Rasmussen said. “If you just look at our dugout, you can see how he interacts with all the guys -- how much everyone respects him, how much everyone appreciates him, how much everyone loves him. In all honesty, he’s one of the best, and it’s just incredible to have him with us.”