Yusniel Díaz

Yusniel Efraín Díaz Hechavarría (born October 7, 1996) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Díaz and the second or maternal family name is Hechavarría.
Yusniel Díaz
Yusniel Díaz with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfielder
Born: (1996-10-07) October 7, 1996
Havana, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 2022, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.000
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Career

Industriales

Díaz played for the Industriales of the Cuban National Series and hit .348/.448/.440 over 65 games as a rookie.[1] He was the favorite to win the Cuban National Series Rookie of the Year Award, but defected before the award was given out.[2]

Los Angeles Dodgers

Díaz signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in November 2015.[3] The Dodgers assigned him to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Advanced Class-A California League to begin his professional career.[4] In 82 games for the Quakes in 2016, he hit .267 with eight homers and 54 RBI.[5] In 2017, he played in 83 games for the Quakes and 31 for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and hit .292 with 11 homers and 52 RBI.[5] He was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League and was chosen for the Fall Stars Game showcase.[6] Díaz remained with Tulsa to begin 2018 and was selected to the "world" team at the All-Star Futures Game.[7]

Baltimore Orioles

On July 18, 2018, Díaz was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with Breyvic Valera, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon, and Zach Pop in exchange for Manny Machado.[8] He was assigned to the Bowie Baysox and finished the year there. In 97 games between Tulsa and Bowie, he slashed .285/.392/.449 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.[9] He split the 2019 season between the Aberdeen IronBirds, Frederick Keys, and Bowie, hitting a combined .265/.341/.464/.805 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI.[10] Díaz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

On November 20, 2020, Díaz was added to the 40-man roster.[12] Díaz split the 2021 season between Bowie and the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 65 games between the two affiliates, he batted .161/.233/.265 with five home runs and 22 RBI.[5]

He spent the majority of the 2022 season with Norfolk, slashing .251/.346/.360 with six home runs, 34 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 70 games.[5] On August 1, 2022, Díaz was recalled and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[13] He made his MLB debut the next day, receiving one plate appearance and striking out against the Texas Rangers’ Dennis Santana. He was sent down to Norfolk to the following day.[14] He was recalled on August 21,[15] but sent down the next day without making an appearance.[16]

On November 10, 2022, Díaz was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Norfolk.[17] He elected free agency on November 11.

Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

On February 3, 2023, Díaz signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers organization.[18] He spent the season with Tulsa in Double-A, batting .278 with 16 homers and 60 RBI.[5]

References
  1. "Cuban Outfielder Yusniel Diaz Free To Sign". Baseballamerica.com. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. "Yusniel Efrain Diaz: A rookie irrespective". Oncubamagazine.com. April 21, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  3. Jesse Sanchez (January 20, 2016). "Sources: Dodgers ink pair of Cuban prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  4. Ryan Walton (April 4, 2016). "Rancho Cucamonga opening day roster highlighted by Grant Holmes, Yusniel Diaz". SB Nation. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. "Yusniel Diaz Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. Eric Stephen (October 30, 2017). "Yusniel Diaz, Matt Beaty will represent Dodgers in AFL Fall Stars Game". SB Nation. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  7. Jim Callis (July 6, 2018). "Futures Game rosters packed with prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  8. Ken Gurnick (July 18, 2018). "Dodgers complete Machado trade with Orioles". MLB.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. "Yusniel Diaz Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  10. Steve Melewski (October 12, 2019). "His prospect status took a hit, but a door is still ajar for Yusniel Diaz". MASN. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  11. "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  12. Anthony Franco (2020-11-20). "Orioles Designate Renato Nunez For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  13. "Orioles' Yusniel Diaz: Called up Monday". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  14. "Orioles' Yusniel Diaz: Sent back down". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  15. "Orioles' Yusniel Diaz: Joins O's in Williamsport". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  16. "Orioles' Yusniel Diaz: Heads back to minors". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  17. "Orioles' Yusniel Diaz: Loses spot on 40-man roster". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  18. "Dodgers' Yusniel Diaz: Signs minor-league deal". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
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