Rays' Slugger Predicted to Land With Padres by End of Season

Will the Tampa Bay Rays end up trading a star slugger to the San Diego Padres?

May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

With spring training underway for the Tampa Bay Rays, the team is starting to put their roster together for the 2026 campaign. However, what the roster looks like at the end of the season could be very different. 

Following missing the playoffs each of the last two years, the Rays made it a mission to shake things up a bit this winter. In free agency, they added some veterans who will help in 2026, but the bulk of the moves were more geared toward the future. With the farm system in need of some help, the team traded both Brandon Lowe and Shane Baz this winter. 

These moves didn’t help the team for 2026, but the returns that they got were impressive. Now, the farm system has been restocked with some talent, and the team can hopefully get back on track. However, while the team gets prepared for the start of the season, it is possible that they will continue to move veteran talent with an eye toward the future. 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Rays’ slugger Yandy Diaz would end up finishing the season with the San Diego Padres. 

Diaz Being Traded Wouldn’t Be a Surprise

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

While Tampa Bay is going into the season hoping to be a contender in the American League East, that is going to be an uphill battle for the team. This is a division that has a lot more financial resources than the Rays, and that was apparent this winter. 

While a new stadium and revenue could help Tampa Bay increase spending in the future, that is still going to take some time. If the Rays end up lagging behind the rest of the division, they will undoubtedly become sellers this summer. 

As one of the veterans on the team, Diaz is going to have his name mentioned in trade rumors quite frequently with that being the case. The Padres have long been a good landing spot for the talented slugger, and they will undoubtedly be a team that could pursue him if he becomes available. 

At a very affordable price tag and as one of the best contact hitters in the game, Diaz would be a great addition for the Padres. San Diego is a team that will likely be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the National League, and adding a bat would make a lot of sense for them.