When the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Yandy Diaz during the 2018 Winter Meetings, most Rays fans mourned the end of the budding bromance between Jake Bauers and Willy Adames but didn’t know much about Yandy Diaz, the returning player.
What we did learn very quickly was that the Rays had acquired the man with the largest biceps in baseball, who, shockingly, could not hit homeruns.
The Rays, however, were confident in their acquisition and praised his plate discipline, approach, and ability to hit the ball hard to all fields. By that point, baseball fans and commentators across the league had learned to respect the Rays front office and could only assume that now with the Rays science lab at his disposal, Diaz would mash 40 homeruns a year.