FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Yandy Díaz reported to Charlotte Sports Park for Spring Training last month, he admitted there were times during the offseason when he worried the Rays might trade him.
Instead, they decided to keep him around a little longer.
The Rays on Friday exercised D¨ªaz¡¯s $12 million club option for the 2026 season and added a vesting option for the ¡®27 season. The 33-year-old first baseman will make $13 million in 2027 if he makes at least 500 plate appearances; if he falls short of that mark, the Rays can exercise a $10 million club option for the ¡®27 season instead.
¡°The motivation [to do this] was the team,¡± D¨ªaz said through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. ¡°I love it here, the team is great, and I want to finish my career here.¡±
D¨ªaz is set to make $10 million this season as part of the three-year, $24 million extension he signed in January 2023. This would have been the final guaranteed season of that deal. Now, he¡¯s under contract for two more seasons with the potential to stick around another year.
¡°It surprised me a little bit, but I'm grateful,¡± D¨ªaz said. ¡°And God willing, I can finish my career here.¡±
The Rays initially approached D¨ªaz¡¯s camp about this in December, but nothing came of those conversations. They returned to the idea after Spring Training began and got a deal done two weeks before their opening game.
¡°There's a really good relationship there. Yandy loves it here. Yandy values just knowing he's going to be here,¡± Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. ¡°There was an opportunity to do something that increased our chances of keeping Yandy around here longer, so really happy to get it done.¡±
If he stays healthy, D¨ªaz seems like a lock to reach 500 plate appearances. He¡¯s averaged 580 plate appearances per season over the last four years, never recording fewer than 541. There is no buyout on his 2027 option, just like there wasn¡¯t one for the ¡®26 club option they exercised on Friday.
D¨ªaz has been a highly productive player since the Rays acquired him from Cleveland as part of a three-team trade in December 2018. He has hit .289/.374/.440 with a 130 OPS+, 74 homers, 313 RBIs and 14 WAR over the past six seasons.
His best year came in 2023, when he won the American League batting title (the first in Rays history) with a .330 average (a Rays franchise record among qualifying hitters), hit a career-high 22 homers, made his first All-Star team and started the game at first base, won a Silver Slugger Award and finished sixth in the AL MVP Award voting.
One reason the Rays felt comfortable extending their commitment to D¨ªaz, Neander said, is that his skill set historically ¡°has some real staying power.¡± He has an incredible batting eye, elite plate discipline and a remarkable ability to put the ball in play. And as his massive upper-body muscles might indicate, he makes a point to take care of his body.
¡°I'm pumped. Happy for Yandy. Easy guy to root for,¡± manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°Look, the player that he's become, what he means to our team and our lineup, happy that they were able to find some common ground. And hopefully he's happy, because I know we are.¡±
Last season, D¨ªaz struggled through an uncharacteristically rough April then found his form at the plate the rest of the way. Overall, despite dealing with some nagging injuries, he batted .281/.341/.414 with 14 homers and 65 RBIs in 145 games.
This spring, the Rays have discussed the possibility of giving D¨ªaz more time as their designated hitter, mixing in Jonathan Aranda at first base, to keep the veteran¡¯s legs fresh. He has traditionally been Tampa Bay¡¯s regular leadoff man, but the club has explored the idea of occasionally batting him lower in the order to put him in position to drive in more runs.
Interestingly, first base is a position of depth for the Rays. Along with D¨ªaz, Aranda and Curtis Mead, all of whom are capable of playing first base in the Majors, three of their Top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, are primary first basemen expected to start the season in Double-A or Triple-A: Xavier Isaac (No. 2), Tre¡¯ Morgan (No. 4) and Will Simpson (No. 30).
¡°We¡¯re really excited about our young players. Couldn't be more excited about a lot of our young players. At the same time, Yandy has been doing it in the big leagues for quite some time now,¡± Neander said. ¡°As is often our position, we're trying to find ways to score more runs, and having Yandy a part of us moving forward increases our chances of doing that effectively.
¡°Ideally, if you've got a player that really wants to be here that you appreciate and that gives you a lot of offense at one of those positions, as long as you can run that out, I think you have to take it. And then, as those other players ascend, you just figure it out as you go.¡±