| Yusniel Díaz | |
| Team: | Free agent |
| Position: | Outfielder |
| Birth Date: | 7 October 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Havana, Cuba |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | August 2 |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutteam: | Baltimore Orioles |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2022 season |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .000 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 0 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 0 |
| Teams: | |
Yusniel Efraín Díaz Hechavarría (born October 7, 1996) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles.
Díaz played for the Industriales of the Cuban National Series and hit .348/.448/.440 over 65 games as a rookie.[1] He was the favorite to win the Cuban National Series Rookie of the Year Award, but defected before the award was given out.[2]
Díaz signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in November 2015.[3] The Dodgers assigned him to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Advanced Class-A California League to begin his professional career.[4] In 82 games for the Quakes in 2016, he hit .267 with eight homers and 54 RBI.[5] In 2017, he played in 83 games for the Quakes and 31 for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and hit .292 with 11 homers and 52 RBI.[5] He was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League and was chosen for the Fall Stars Game showcase.[6] Díaz remained with Tulsa to begin 2018 and was selected to the "world" team at the All-Star Futures Game.[7]
On July 18, 2018, Díaz was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with Breyvic Valera, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon, and Zach Pop in exchange for Manny Machado.[8] He was assigned to the Bowie Baysox and finished the year there. In 97 games between Tulsa and Bowie, he slashed .285/.392/.449 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.[9] He split the 2019 season between the Aberdeen IronBirds, Frederick Keys, and Bowie, hitting a combined .265/.341/.464/.805 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI.[10] Díaz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
On November 20, 2020, Díaz was added to the 40-man roster.[12] Díaz split the 2021 season between Bowie and the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 65 games between the two affiliates, he batted .161/.233/.265 with five home runs and 22 RBI.[5]
He spent the majority of the 2022 season with Norfolk, slashing .251/.346/.360 with six home runs, 34 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 70 games.[5] On August 1, 2022, Díaz was recalled and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[13] He made his MLB debut the next day, receiving one plate appearance and striking out against the Texas Rangers’ Dennis Santana. He was sent down to Norfolk to the following day.[14] He was recalled on August 21,[15] but sent down the next day without making an appearance.[16]
On November 10, 2022, Díaz was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Norfolk.[17] He elected free agency on November 11.
On February 3, 2023, Díaz signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.[18] He spent the season with the Double–A Tulsa Drillers, playing in 94 games and batting .278/.374/.484 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI.[5] Díaz elected free agency following the season on November 6.[19]
On November 21, 2023, Díaz signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.[20] On November 6, he elected free agency.[21]