TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays have placed designated hitter Yandy Diaz on the restricted list on Tuesday, and he won’t be available when they start a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Diaz, the 33-year-old Cuban, has played in all 40 games for the Rays this season. He’s hitting .238 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. He was 0-for-11 in the recent series with Milwaukee in Tampa.
Diaz went on the restricted list last year, too, right after the 2024 All-Star break. According to the team, he was dealing with a family issue at the time that did not qualify under MLB’s official bereavement/family medical emergency list. Cash said the move was not disciplinary-related at the time.
The team said Diaz had passport renewal issues.
The Rays (18-22) and Blue Jays (20-20) play Tuesday night, with first pitch at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Tampa Bay recalled Coco Montes from Triple-A Durham to replace Diaz. He is not in the starting lineup.
Here’s the Rays’ lineup:
- Chandler Simpson LF
- Brandon Lowe DH
- Junior Caminero 3B
- Jonathan Aranda 1B
- Kameron Misner CF
- Jose Caballero 2B
- Taylor Walls SS
- Travis Jankowski RF
- Danny Jansen C
Shane Baz is pitching for the Rays, making his eighth start of the year. He is 3-2 with a 4.93 earned run average. He’s been very good in his three wins, pitching 19 innings and allowing just one earned run. In those three starts over Pittsburgh, Boston and San Diego, he struck out 27 hitters and allowed just one walk,
But in his other four starts, he has given up 20 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings, and had gotten shelled in recent losses to Kansas City and Philadelphia on May 1 and May 7, respectively.
