Yilber

Díaz

The 25-year-old right-hander had been designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on Sunday. He’ll add extra bullpen depth for the Tigers, and it shouldn’t take him long to earn an opportunity with the big league club if he pitches well at the Triple-A level.

Arizona has decided to move on from Díaz with a plethora of exciting young arms coming up through their system that clearly have higher upside like David Hagaman and Daniel Eagan. The 25-year-old was hit hard in his lone relief appearance with the Diamondbacks earlier this season and has made just nine appearances, including four starts, since 2024. He’s battled command issues at the Triple-A level this season, but might garner some interest on waivers as a reclamation project given his age and talent.

Díaz boasts a 4.50 ERA in 26 appearances with Reno, with 43 strikeouts and 21 walks in 32 innings. He’ll try to find a way into Arizona’s relief mix, but the Diamondbacks are probably viewing him as a short-term fill-in while they work through internal options to replace Ryne Nelson in the rotation.

Oof. Nelson was pitching really well since a down April, compiling a 3.75 ERA and a 2-3 record over 57 2/3 innings since the start of May. Gambadoro also reports Yilber Díaz is being called up to replace Nelson. This is typically the kind of injury that would cost a pitcher multiple months, so Nelson is droppable in fantasy leagues once this report is confirmed.

Ray, who was added to the 40-man over the offseason, had an inflated 6.30 ERA for Reno in his age-24 season. He managed to appear in only one spring training game and took the loss. He profiles as an up-and-down starter if he can improve his command.

Díaz allowed three runs over three innings on Friday in a multi-inning relief outing against the Braves. The 24-year-old righty heads back to Triple-A Reno where he’ll continue developing as a starter.

Díaz, 24, made seven appearances (four starts) for the Diamondbacks in 2024, compiling a 3.81 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 19/12 K/BB ratio across 28 1/3 innings. He’ll give the D’Backs another quality bullpen option that’s capable of working multiple innings.

Massive cuts for the Diamondbacks, and none of these players offer much short-term fantasy value. Díaz did pitch well in his limited time with Arizona last year, and likely will see action before the end of the summer.

Diaz was sent down to make room on the active roster for Arizona to activate Ryne Nelson. He had a 3.81 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in seven appearances with the Diamondbacks.

Diaz is only expected to miss one or two starts at Triple-A Reno due to the issue, but it takes him out of the mix for at least a couple weeks for a potential emergency spot start in the big leagues. The 23-year-old rookie has been excellent so far for the Diamondbacks with a 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 14/8 K/BB ratio across 20 innings (four starts).