When Tampa Bay and Cleveland essentially swapped Jake Bauers and Yandy Diaz during the 2018-19 offseason, many saw it as a Challenge Trade. It was one of those rare moves in which two teams were exchanging young, promising players who looked to be a better fit on elsewhere.
For Cleveland, Bauers filled a more pressing hole on their roster than did Diaz; the Rays saw Yandy’s biceps (and probably his swing, but mostly, you know, the biceps) and said ‘We can get more than one career home run out of that.’
One Year Review
One season in, and the Rays (as usual) are looking pretty smart.