The Rays have placed corner infielder Yandy Diaz on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, the club announced. Infielder Nate Lowe has been called up from the alternate training site to take Diaz’s spot on the active roster.
While the Rays have been hit hard by pitching injuries in recent weeks, Diaz is a notable loss on the position player side. Playing mostly every day at third base for the Rays, Diaz has hit .307/.428/.386 this season, good for a 130 OPS+ and 136 wRC+ over 138 plate appearances. Diaz’s patience at the plate is obviously the big contributor to his production, as he has shown very little power and not even much hard contact. Statcast ranks Diaz in the bottom ninth percentile in barrels and in the bottom 19th percentile in hard-hit balls.
Still, losing a player with a .428 OBP is naturally a big loss to any lineup, though the versatile Rays are better equipped than most teams to withstand Diaz’s absence. Joey Wendle seems likely to get the bulk of third base work with Diaz out, and Yoshi Tsutsugo and Mike Brosseau on hand for further depth.
Lowe could also be in the picture, as he played a handful of games at third base during 50 games with Tampa Bay last season. Lowe hit .263/.325/.454 with seven home runs over his first 169 PA in the majors, and the well-regarded prospect has an impressive .300/.400/.483 slash line and 54 homes over 1718 career plate appearances at the minor league level.
More must-reads: