This MLB puzzle ran on Oct 23, 2026. The task was to connect Yandy Díaz to Christian Yelich with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a player born in Mexico.” Par was 3 links.
Yandy Díaz (OF) played in the MLB from 2017 to 2026. Career stops: the Guardians (2017 to 2018) and the Rays (2019 to 2026). No college is on record for this player. As the Start of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Christian Yelich (OF) played in the MLB from 2013 to 2026. Career stops: the Marlins (2013 to 2017) and the Brewers (2018 to 2026). Honors in the dataset: MVP. As the Finish of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Yandy Díaz and Christian Yelich do not share a team or a college, so there is no direct link. You need at least one connector in between, and the objective decides which ones are allowed to count.
This was a birthplace objective. At least one player in the chain has to have been born in the named country. Of the 11,807 players in the pool, 145 satisfy it. The best known are Fernando Valenzuela (SP, 1980 to 1997), Vinny Castilla (3B, 1991 to 2006), Esteban Loaiza (SP, 1995 to 2008), Brandon Valenzuela (C, 2026), Aurelio Rodriguez (3B, 1967 to 1983), and Joakim Soria (RP, 2007 to 2021).
17 of those players share a team or college with Yandy Díaz, and 16 share one with Christian Yelich. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Christian Yelich.
One shortest chain found by searching the full player pool, preferring the best known names at every step:
Many other chains work. Scoring rewards lower-profile connectors, so the best-known route is rarely the highest scoring one.
Want more? Browse the full MLB puzzle archive, read the strategy guides, or see how scoring works on How to Play.