Elias

Díaz

Jansen has been seeing nearly everyday action between the catcher and designated hitter spots in the lineup, so he’ll get a breather on Sunday. Elias Diaz will start behind the plate for the Royals and will bat ninth against Yankees’ left-hander Ryan Weathers.

With Carter Jensen and Salvador Perez seeing regular action as the Royals’ designated hitter, it makes sense for them to carry a third backstop. The 35-year-old was off to a very slow start offensively at the Triple-A level, slashing .219/.286/.250 with zero homers, one RBI and an 8/1 K/BB ratio in 35 plate appearances. His days of fantasy relevancy are in the rearview mirror.

With Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen both playing regularly, a third catcher makes sense for the Royals. Unless someone is hurt, we assume Tyler Tolbert will be swapped out. A utilityman on the roster for his speed, he’s 0-for-4 on the season. The Royals will also have to free up a spot on the 40-man.

You can never have enough quality catching depth. The 35-year-old backstop hit just .204/.270/.337 with nine homers, 29 RBI and a 74/21 K/BB ratio across 283 plate appearances with the Padres in 2025. He’ll add extra depth behind the plate in major league camp, though he seems unlikely to crack the Royals’ Opening Day roster unless injury strikes.

No real surprises here for the Padres as all three will head to free agency. Hart compiled a lackluster 5.86 ERA across 43 innings in his San Diego debut. Wade and Díaz are merely bench players at this stage of their respective careers.

Even with Freddy Fermin entrenched as the starter, the Padres will roster both Luis Campusano and Martín Maldonado as backups for this series. It remains to be seen who will catch Game 2.

Díaz missed Sunday’s game with an oblique issue. While he’s lost playing time, Díaz has continued to serve as Nick Pivetta’s personal catcher since the acquisition of Freddy Fermin, and the Padres would surely prefer not to mess with the pairing at this point. Still, they’re making preparations to be without him, as both Martín Maldonado and Luis Campusano are expected to be in Chicago and available to be activated.

San Diego could turn to Luis Campusano on their postseason roster if Díaz isn’t ready to go in a couple days. It’ll presumably be Freddy Fermin handling the catching duties in his absence. The 34-year-old veteran suffered an oblique injury during Saturday’s win over Arizona.

Díaz belted the third of three Padres’ home runs off of Diamondbacks’ left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, with his 390-foot blast increasing the Padres’ lead to 5-0 in the second inning. It has been a rough season overall for the 34-year-old backstop as he’s hitting just .204/.270/.337 with nine long balls and 29 RBI in 283 plate appearances.

This one turned into a laugher., but Díaz’s homer in the fifth accounted for the Padres’ first and only run off Taj Bradley. He then hit his second as part of a seven-run seventh inning. It’s Díaz’s second career two-homer game, with the other coming three years ago against the Diamondbacks. The start tonight was his first in six days, as he’s taken a backseat to Freddy Fermin since the trade deadline.