ST. PETERSBURG -- Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz exited Sunday’s 5-1 win over the D-backs at Tropicana Field due to a left shoulder strain, but he is expected to be fine.
Díaz has plenty of experience playing through pain in his shoulder, and he doesn’t think it will be any different this time.
“I'm not going to lie. I'm hurting a little bit,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “But it’s stuff that I've managed, and we've got to keep at it and keep going day to day and take it a game at a time and keep moving forward.”
Díaz looked uncomfortable after fouling off a pitch during a 10-pitch at-bat against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly in the fifth inning, prompting a slow walk around the plate and a visit from manager Kevin Cash and head athletic trainer Joe Benge.
“I honestly feel it even when I just lift up my arm,” he said. “I've dealt with these things in the past, and I do a good job managing them.”
Díaz stayed in the game and finished the at-bat, a groundout to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, but he still appeared to be in discomfort as he trotted down the first-base line. He left the dugout with Benge, and the Rays later announced he had exited the game. Richie Palacios pinch-hit for Díaz to lead off the seventh inning.
Noting that Díaz has managed discomfort in his left shoulder for “five years, probably,” Cash said he sometimes aggravates the area while swinging or sliding. Díaz said it’s a regular issue he has to address.
“I've done everything. Honestly, I've even played a little bit while hurting,” he said. “Look, I'm going to keep doing what I've got to keep doing. I've done this in the past. I feel really good about this moving forward.”
He is considered day to day. The Rays travel to Kansas City on Sunday night before a scheduled off-day Monday, so Díaz can get a little extra rest before he hopes to return to the lineup against the Royals on Tuesday night.
“I feel like I'll be ready,” he said.
That’s good news for the Rays, because losing Díaz for any amount of time would be a huge blow for a lineup that is very dependent upon its “Big Three” of Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero.
Díaz has been arguably Tampa Bay’s most valuable player so far this season. The veteran DH leads the American League with a .336 batting average, and he’s also posted a .931 OPS -- fifth-best in the AL -- with 12 homers and 53 RBIs.