Yusniel Efraín Díaz Hechavarría (born October 7, 1996) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Yusniel Díaz | |
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![]() Yusniel Díaz with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | |
Baltimore Orioles – No. 84 | |
Outfielder | |
Born: (1996-10-07) October 7, 1996 (age 26) Havana, Cuba | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 2, 2022, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
Batting average | .000 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 0 |
Teams | |
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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]
On November 20, 2020, Díaz was added to the 40-man roster.[11]
Baltimore Orioles roster | |
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Active roster |
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Injured list |
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Coaching staff |
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