The Tampa Bay Rays placed All-Star first baseman Yandy Diaz on the paternity list on Friday, two days after his wife gave birth to their son.
Diaz, the American League batting leader, will miss Friday’s road game against the Kansas City Royals. He is expected to return to the team on either Saturday or Sunday.
The 31-year-old Diaz homered in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Seattle and then took a red-eye flight across the country for Wednesday’s birth. It was Diaz’s first All-Star Game.
Diaz homered in the second inning off Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller.
Diaz is batting .323 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 78 games this season. He is third in the majors in batting average.
In 550 games over seven seasons with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, Diaz has a .285 career average with 52 homers and 241 RBIs.
Tampa Bay recalled infielder Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. Aranda, 25, is 1-for-8 in two games with the Rays this season and batting .186 with two homers and eight RBIs in 34 games over two seasons.
–Field Level Media