The San Diego Padres and the Tampa Rays make sense in a potential deal. The two sides have of history of consummated trades. 

Former MLB All-Star, first baseman Yandy Diaz has been a fit for the San Diego Padres for a few years, and now is the perfect time for the Padres to make a move for him.

Although first base/left fielder/designated hitter Gavin Sheets is on the roster, the Padres would be wise to add Diaz into the fold. Coming off a season where Diaz hit a career high 25 home runs and had his second-highest season in terms of OPS at .848, now is the time to strike.

Yandy Diaz is a very powerful contact hitter who has a career 128 OPS+ and has always been a small tweak away from being an even better hitter.

Diaz has a very contact-heavy profile, but with hard-hitting metrics unlike former Padres’ infielder Luis Arraez. Diaz has ranked in the 93rd percentile or higher in hard-hit percentage in every season since 2022. His expected rates match his well-above-average stats, and his strikeout percentage also ranks well above average every season as well.

Diaz’s biggest weakness as a hitter isn’t really about how he hits the ball, but more about where he hits the ball. His average launch angle last year was 5.0 for the second year in a row, and he has a career 5.2 launch angle, which explains his career 53.4 groundball percentage. Diaz’s struggles to put the ball in the air consistently are why he does not slug even more.

He’s an extremely strong and hard-hitting line drive hitter. The Padres are clearly in need of more slug, and how they get that is something they shouldn’t be too picky about. The team struggled with no approach to optimize their power by pulling fly balls, but it could be argued that Diaz is not where they should try to gain ground on that.

Yandy Diaz supplies the same general outlook as Arraez in terms of someone who won’t strike out as much, gets a lot of hits, and has a great understanding of the strike zone. Diaz does supply more of a balance because of his hard-hit rate, and that’s what the Padres should bank on.

The Padres do not lack power in their current lineup. Manny Machado is a lock for 27-30 home runs every season. Fernando Tatis Jr. has 40 home run power. Jackson Merrill has shown his ability to get extra base hits,s and even Ramon Laureano unlocked power in his bat. The team needs to maximize the power it already has. They can afford to take a more contact approach at first base with someone who would raise their hard-hit percentage by quite a bit. The top of the lineup would have a bit of a different look to it and benefit as well.

Diaz has a lot of experience as a leadoff hitter for the Rays due to his great plate discipline, but he seems to specifically do really well in the third spot in the lineup. One of the Padres’ biggest struggles in 2025 was having Arraez hit second, where most players put their best hitters in the lineup. Opening up that very valuable spot would allow the Padres to keep Fernando Tatis Jr. in the leadoff spot, where he had his highest OBP since his rookie year and the most walks of his career.

This move also allows Jackson Merrill to hit second, where Diaz and Manny Machado would hit behind him, providing insurance. This also helps maximize both his and Tatis Jr.’s power and speed mixes. A Yandy Diaz addition to the lineup raises both the floor and the ceiling of the lineup and adds another option against lefties, who the Padres have perennially struggled against.

One of the biggest hurdles for the Padres acquiring Diaz is his $12 million contract for 2026 and a $10 million conditional club option for 2027. The payroll for 2026 is not clear, and the team has larger needs in the rotation. Depending on how creative general manager A.J. Preller wants to get, he could include infielder Jake Cronenworth, as the Rays may be looking to trade their own second baseman, Brandon Lowe. The team could also explore trading Cronenworth for a starting pitching option that would cost less and take on the Diaz salary as a replacement for Cronenworth’s since they are very similar contracts.

Regardless of where the Padres choose to allocate their payroll funds, the team does have a full depth chart as of now of major league talent and truly just needs to find depth.

For a team that has struggled offensively the last two postseasons, finding an anchor for the lineup is also very necessary, but they do not need to go shopping for stars. Yandy Diaz is the type of player who can help fortify this lineup to reach new heights.

This offseason will be a fascinating one for the Padres. Making a deal for the most logical fit may be too good an opportunity to pass up.