The Arizona Diamondbacks cast off Yilber Diaz after a disastrous 44-pitch outing, but his underlying minor-league metrics suggest another club could strike gold with the young Venezuelan right-hander.
On paper, a 94.50 ERA is quite a good reason to designate a pitcher for assignment.
In the case of the Arizona Diamondbacks, they put Yilber Diaz in an incredibly difficult situation and seem to be putting the full blame on his shoulders.
Diaz, 25, made his ninth appearance for the D-backs, dating back to 2024. He hasn't been used much by the team. But, as of Sunday, June 21, he's officially been designated for assignment.
This announcement comes on the heels of him allowing seven runs, all of which were earned, on seven hits. He didn't record any strikeouts, but allowed both a walk and home run in the two outs he recorded, something that took 44 pitches to obtain.
Diaz Will Earn Another Chance Elsewhere
There are plenty of teams in the league that could use a guy like Diaz, but ultimately, things didn't work out in Arizona. Obviously, not putting a pitcher in a position to succeed is one thing, but that's been the story of Diaz's time in Arizona on a consistent basis.
The Venezuelan native had a 3.81 ERA in 2024. He was 1-1 that year and had a 1.38 WHIP in four starts. Back in 2024, he made seven appearances, by far the most he's had in a single season.
Diaz's 2026 debut obviously didn't go according to plan, but it's worth noting the Diamondbacks only gave him one shot in 2025 as well. Last season, Diaz threw 3.0 innings and had a 2.33 WHIP to go along with another inflated ERA, 9.00.
Diaz's Minor League Numbers Show Potential
Here in 2026, Diaz had a 3-3 record in Triple-A with a 4.50 ERA. There are plenty of big league pitchers who would love to have that ERA, but to Diaz's credit, this has been a long time coming. He's been in the Diamondbacks minor league system since 2021, and at this point, the team felt they had no choice but to move on.
With a 12.09 K/9 in the minors this season, Diaz shows promise with some of his advanced numbers. His 2.05 K/BB ration is incredibly up from the 0.96 it was a year ago, and it's worth noting his HR/9 is just 0.84.
This is a consistent trend for Diaz, someone who's HR/9 hasn't ever been higher than 1.58. Overall, it's been under 1.00 in four of his six minor league seasons.
Diamondbacks Announce Three Other Roster Moves
Right-handed pitcher Jose Cabrera has been selected from Triple-A Reno while left-handed pitcher Kohl Drake has been recalled. Following the team's game on Saturday, June 20, LHP Philip Abner has been optioned to Triple-A Reno.
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