D-backs’ Yilber Diaz overcomes tremendous odds for MLB dream; ‘You can make a movie out of it’
Jul 13, 2024, 1:00 PM | Updated: 7:12 pm

Starting pitcher Yilber Diaz #45 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts during the MLB game at Chase Field on July 08, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Yilber Diaz found himself stuck at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ academy in the Dominican Republic for eight months during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, unsigned and unable to travel home to Venezuela.
He had come a long way to get there. Diaz sat on a bus, and then another, and then another as he traveled from Peru to Ecuador to Colombia and back to his home country for the chance to get looked at by major league teams. Months earlier, he was washing windshields on the streets in Peru.
After stepping away from the game he loved due to injury, feeling like he missed his window to sign as an international prospect, Diaz had a real shot at finding a life in baseball.
While the pandemic delayed his contract with the D-backs, he had to make sure he was in the best shape he could get himself into.
“Every morning in COVID, I would go out and do what I thought was going to be the most beneficial conditioning on my own, the team could not advise me on anything,” Diaz told Arizona Sports via Spanish interpreter Rolando Valles. “Then I would arrange with one of the players every afternoon, after conditioning, to throw. After that, I was doing my lifting, all motivation to get better.”
Four years later, Diaz took the hill at Chase Field for his major league debut at 23 years old, representing the Diamondbacks against the Braves and the perseverance it took to reach his MLB dream.
“You can make a movie out of it,” Cesar Geronimo, D-backs vice president of Latin American scouting and player development, told Arizona Sports.
Life away from baseball
Diaz suffered a wrist injury playing basketball in his neighborhood at the worst possible time for a 18-year-old baseball player who had yet to land a contract with a major league club. Diaz said he was throwing 89-90 mph after having not signed at 16 when he was first eligible and a position change, but the injury away from the field was an incredibly frustrating setback.
He stepped away from the game he loved since his abuelo gave him a ball as a young boy and started to think of life beyond baseball. That led him at 18 years old, a girlfriend he had at the time and close cousin to venture out of Venezuela to find new economic possibilities abroad.
Diaz made brief stops in Colombia and Ecuador, selling energy drinks in Ecuador for three months before moving onto Peru.
“Weren’t too many opportunities back home, so that was a trend of people around the neighborhood for them to get into a better situation,” Diaz said through Valles. “So he wanted to get a starting point with his life outside of baseball.”
At first, he started washing windshields on the side of the road at a stoplight in Lima, asking for money in order to eat anything. That is when he met Jhonathan Carrillo selling candy on the street.
Carrillo, a trainer from Venezuela, who recognized a young athlete, likely a baseball player, when he saw one, specifically his hands. Diaz credited Carrillo with motivating the future big leaguer to get back into practicing baseball.
Diaz started training with Carrillo, who found him a better job selling candy and strawberries with cream.
“He had to travel like an hour or two hours to find a pitching mound in Peru,” Geronimo said his scout learned. “In Peru they don’t play baseball. So he had to travel weekly, because he used to throw a bullpen during the weekends, and the weekdays he used to work.”
Once they both felt Diaz was ready, Carrillo started sending video of Diaz to buscones, those who run baseball academies that prepare players to sign as international free agents, all over Venezuela.
They got a bite, as Felix Perez, a buscon in Puerto La Cruz, showed interest in continuing Diaz’s development and putting him in front of MLB teams. Perez played a key role in getting Diaz tryouts.
The problem was Diaz had to finance his own way back to Venezuela.
“He had around $280 total (after selling a cell phone), and that’s what it took him to get through all of the different countries, plus the meals,” Valles interpreted from Diaz.
Diaz spent seven days traveling to the academy. At least the buses were air conditioned.
Ronald Salazar was the first area scout from the Diamondbacks to watch Diaz, and he stuck his neck out for him. Salazar was impressed from the get-go, and the D-backs had a crosschecker go watch him. Geronimo said the club was drawn to Diaz’s athleticism and the ease of which the baseball bursted out of his hand. There was room for the velocity to increase as Diaz grew stronger, considering he had a slender frame.
“When he got back to Venezuela, he was like 145 pounds or 150 pounds,” Geronimo said. “That’s what the scout mentioned.”
The two sides first had contact in December 2019, Diaz said. Geronimo said Diaz was about 160-165 pounds when they saw him.
Yilber Díaz moved from Venezuela to Perú when he was 18 years old.
He used to sell ice cream to make money for his family while practicing on soccer/football fields.
He went back to Venezuela to keep pursuing his dream of being a pro baseball player.
He never gave up and… pic.twitter.com/ynSAEjxfeG
— Daniel Álvarez-Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) July 9, 2024
Yilber Diaz did not sign with D-backs right away
Diaz went to the Dominican Republic at the Diamondbacks’ academy and passed his physical in March 2020.
However, all scouting activities were suspended once the pandemic began, and the international signing window was pushed from July to January.
The club could provide food and board at the complex, but coaches were not permitted to instruct the players during this time.
For Diaz, being stuck at the facility (from March to October) presented a golden opportunity. He had access to the weight room and meals.
“This is a good opportunity for me to continue to develop while I’m here,” Diaz said. “So when I get looked at, I’m in even better condition than when I first got here.”
The Diamondbacks signed Diaz on February 5, 2021, once the restrictions were lifted. Diaz was 20 years old — for context, teammates Geraldo Perdomo was 16 and Justin Martinez was 17 when they signed with the D-backs from the Dominican Republic.
“What stood out with him was his work ethic,” Geronimo said. “We had people there in our academy, like the cook and administration, I think there was a coach that used to stay there, just keeping an eye on those kids. What they told me about Yilber was that he was a workaholic, a freak working out.”
Geronimo made the decision to sign Diaz, but he gave much of the credit to his scouts and Arizona’s player development.
Diaz said the professional contract — he signed for $10,000, according to MLB Pipeline — felt like a trophy after the work he put in behind the scenes.
“He earned the opportunity, so he was just ready,” Valles interpreted from Diaz.
Diaz said he prayed a lot during this journey, giving a heavy bulk of the credit to his Christian faith in pushing him through the darkest moments.
“There were days, mornings where he didn’t feel like going at it and giving his best person, but he still took himself into training, into performing and trusted God that he was going to allow him to do his best,” Valles interpreted from Diaz.
It’s been quite the journey to the Majors for Yilber Diaz.
Now, his hard work is paying off. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Mkruq3pqiS
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 9, 2024
Yilber Diaz pitches his way to the Diamondbacks
Geronimo said the minor leagues were a piece of cake for Diaz compared to what he previously endured to simply survive.
There were still bumps along the way, naturally. He had to learn to limit his walks, tweak his arsenal and adjust to a very different life.
He credits a heart-to-heart talk about his life outside of baseball with pitching coordinator Manny Garcia for taking a heavy weight off his shoulders early in his career. Struggling with command at the time, Diaz called it a turning point mentally that allowed him to stay present.
Diaz plowed his way through the system to reach Double-A Amarillo in September and Triple-A Reno by June, during his fourth pro season.
With such a rapid progression, Diaz put himself at the right place at an opportune time.
The Diamondbacks have been in dire need of pitching help this season. Four of their five starters have spent time on the injured list, three of whom remain there going into the All-Star break. The D-backs have tried various renditions of a five-man rotation, and with Diaz’s success in Double-A and Triple-A this season, the club decided to give him a look.
And Diaz had a terrific MLB debut.
The 6-foot, 190-pound hurler delivered six innings with one run allowed against a perennial playoff team. He showed off a mid-to-upper 90s fastball with command that got him to the bigs, along with a hard slider and curveball that will be key to his success. Better yet, he was poised in key moments with runners on base to keep his team ahead.
Yilber Diaz, 97mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/jNFe2LKaBZ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 9, 2024
“I think he’s enjoying every moment that he possibly can and appreciating every moment that he deserves,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “He’s a big leaguer, and he deserves to be a big leaguer. He’s going to continue to get the baseball if he keeps throwing the way he does. I’m enjoying him being around and just seeing a big smile on his face.”
“We’re very proud of him,” Geronimo said. “He’s got what it takes because of everything he went through … I’m talking to you about trying to survive.”
Diaz will make his second career start Saturday against the Blue Jays.
With veterans Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez not expected back from the injured list until August, Diaz has the chance to extend his big league experience this season and help the D-backs fight for postseason contention. Arizona is looking for someone to grab hold of that spot for the meantime.
After his debut, Diaz was asked what he would say if someone told him five years ago where he would end up. Diaz confidently said, “I’d believe you.”