The Tampa Bay Rays faced off against the New York Yankees, and three of their key players went down as the trade deadline is here. One of those players was Yandy Diaz, who had to leave the game because of a possible injury.
“Yandy Diaz has apparently left today’s game. It’s likely more injury and not trade-related, I’m told, but Christopher Morel is pinch hitting for him here in the fourth inning. Remember, Diaz got drilled in the forearm with a pitch,” Rays TV reporter Ryan Bass wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The second player to leave the game for the team was Chandler Simpson.
“Rays Chandler Simpson left today’s game with an apparent left hand injury after grounding out to end the top of the third,” Bass wrote.
Later on in the game, Jonathan Aranda went down.
Jonathan Aranda down in a lot of pain after colliding with Giancarlo Stanton at first base pic.twitter.com/NXevIN46fK
— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) July 31, 2025
The hope is that those two injuries are not too serious and that they can return to the field as soon as possible. As far as trade rumors, Diaz has been in the spotlight for the Rays for some time now, and a recent report shared that they were open to trading him, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
“The Tampa Bay Rays’ position on trading certain players – and specifically, first baseman Yandy Díaz – also might be softening. A rapid turnaround might force the Rays to shift course,” Rosenthal wrote.
“But Rays officials began signaling to teams late Friday that they will be open to moving Díaz, second baseman Brandon Lowe and others if they do not reverse their tailspin. A final decision might not come before Wednesday, on the eve of the deadline.”
It would be tough now to think that the Rays could trade Diaz, especially with him just getting injured. At the same time, the Rays haven't played that well in the past few games, and they should have turned into sellers instead of buyers with where they stand.
