Yandy

Diaz

It looks to be nothing more than an evening of rest for the 34-year-old infielder. Brandon Lowe will slide over and cover first base in his absence while Tristan Gray will start at second base and bat ninth for the Rays against M’s right-hander Luis Castillo on Friday night.

Aranda suffered a left wrist fracture earlier this week on a collision with Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton. He’s expected to be shut down completely for at least three weeks to rest and recover, but has expressed optimism that he’ll return this season. The 27-year-old first baseman has put together a breakthrough campaign with a .316 batting average and 12 homers in 409 plate appearances over 103 games. It’ll be a combination of Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe covering at the cold corner until some point in September.

Díaz had no trouble against former teammate Blake Snell, lifting a pair of opposite-field homers down the right field line in the first and third innings, respectively, to open the contest. It was his second multi-homer performance of the season. The 33-year-old on-base machine has been sizzling-hot at the dish recently, batting .277 (31-for-112) with eight homers and 21 RBI over his last 30 games.

It’s an extremely encouraging development after Díaz was hit by a pitch during Thursday’s game against the Yankees. It was a bit surprising that the Rays opted to hang onto him at the trade deadline, but the decision means the 33-year-old on-base machine will continue to anchor the heart of their lineup behind rookie speedster Chandler Simpson.

Diaz’s removal isn’t trade-related, but rather an injury situation as he was plunked earlier in the game and was unable to continue. Christopher Morel has taken over for Diaz in the fourth inning. There should be an update on his status after he undergoes imaging.

It was previously reported that the Rays would not be interested in trading Díaz, but they have since struggled to the point where the playoffs are looking less likely, and they are entertaining the possibility. Cotillo suggests that “Red Sox decision-makers were privately wondering if the Rays could make Díaz available” and that the first baseman “fits the roster perfectly as a clear upgrade over the Abraham Toro/Romy Gonzalez platoon at first base.” Díaz is also under control beyond 2025, which the Red Sox like because “privately, the club is not guaranteeing that Triston Casas, who is rehabbing from a season-ending knee injury, will be the starter in 2026.”

Díaz brought one of the Rays’ two runs in with a leadoff homer off Andrew Abbott in the sixth inning for his only hit of the game. It was the 18th home run of the season for the 33-year-old as he’s on pace for a new career-high. Díaz is slashing .286/.345/.475 with 51 runs scored and 61 RBI across 440 plate appearances.

Díaz laced a 380-foot shot at 98.5 mph off the bat for his 16th home run of the year. He had three batted balls over 98 mph on the day and has been on fire since June 1, hitting .367/.439/.557 with eight home runs, 27 runs scored, and 24 RBI in 41 games. The Rays have all but assured teams that Díaz will not be traded at the deadline, which means he will remain a solid corner infield option in all fantasy leagues.

Diaz’ home run was No. 15 on the year for him. He hit a grand slam off Grant Wolfram in the sixth inning, which put the game out of reach at 10-0. Diaz is hitting .290 with an .810 OPS and 57 RBI. He’s bounced back nicely from a subpar season last year.

Rosenthal says that Rays are reluctant to trade players who signed team-friendly extensions, which includes Díaz, who has a $12 million option exercised for 2026 and also has a $10 million club option for 2027. It would be far more likely that the Rays trade Brandon Lowe or Pete Fairbanks, who only have club options for 2026 remaining on their respective deals.