Elias Diaz Injury: Club option declined

The Padres declined Diaz's (oblique) $7 million club option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Diaz posted a .607 OPS across 283 regular-season plate appearances in 2025 -- his worst mark since 2019. Rather than pay him $7 million to likely act as a backup in 2026, the Friars will instead give the 34-year-old a $2 million buyout and send him into free agency. His defense should still be enough for him to draw interest from other clubs, but he doesn't offer much fantasy upside at this stage in his career.