Former batting champ linked as a ‘prime option’ for AL East rival Yankees

The Tampa Bay Rays burst into contention in 2019 and made a great run of it, going as far as the World Series in 2020. Now the Rays seem to be dwindling at .500.

They still hold a quality record, but they currently sit 5.5 games out of the AL Wild Card race and don’t appear strong enough to take it. It seems as though they have already come to this realization and are preparing for a rebuild.

MLB insider Jon Morosi recently wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Rays would listen to offers on some of their top position players. Among the teams that should be interested are the New York Yankees as the parts the Rays are selling are the same parts the Yankees desperately need to upgrade.

(For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.)

Yandy Diaz linked as a ‘prime option’ for the Yankees

To start, all the players mentioned in Morosi’s tweet would make sense for the Yankees. A surging Randy Arozarena that just hit three home runs off them could take over for a slumping Alex Verdugo. Isaac Paredes could cover first or third. However, there has been one very intriguing suggestion coming from Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated who wrote this about a Yandy Diaz-New York Yankees swap:

“Díaz would be a fantastic option for the Yankees if they could meet the Rays' asking price. New York's biggest weaknesses this season has been offense in the infield with first base and third base being troublesome spots. Díaz can play either, although most of his time has come at first base this year.”

Diaz (currently on the restricted list) is slashing .273/.329/.432 with eight home runs through 381 at-bats. Diaz would bring quality at-bats to the Yankee batting order which is in disrepair at the moment.

Let’s also not forget, as McAvoy has noted, Diaz is a batting champion. Just last year, Diaz hit for a .330 AVG with 22 HR. With his best season only one year behind him, it might be that Diaz could bring some elite batting to New York or wherever he lands for that matter.

Diaz is under club control through 2026, which would give the Yankees plenty of time to benefit from any potential elite batting feats Diaz has yet to showcase.

All that said, if possible, the Yankees could try to overhaul their club by pursuing Arozarena, Paredes, along with Diaz as a trio depending on the asking price of course. While acquiring all three more than likely isn’t in the cards for the Yankees, they should consider at least some of the options the Rays have and are willing to part with.