When Yandy Diaz returned to Progressive Field this past weekend, he located his locker in a back corner of the clubhouse.

The staffers had assembled Diaz’s stall next to the one belonging to star shortstop Francisco Lindor. That created a natural forum for Diaz to discuss a variety of things with his teammate, and one of the leaders in the room.

At the forefront of Diaz’s mind was the upcoming return of veteran Edwin Encarnacion, who could be activated from the disabled list as early as Thursday. Maybe that means Diaz is facing a trip back to Triple-A Columbus. Maybe it doesn’t.

Either way, Diaz wanted to pick Lindor’s brain about the situation to see if the shortstop had advice on how to try to convince Cleveland to keep the impressive prospect in the big leagues. Their talk convinced Lindor to ask veteran Michael Brantley if this was worth setting up a meeting with manager Terry Francona.

The idea was not so much about having Diaz plead his case, but rather to make sure everyone was on the same page.

Francona met with Diaz at the end of last season. The manager sat down with him again twice in Spring Training — once as camp opened and again when the corner infielder was sent to the Minors. This time, Lindor was willing to serve as an interpreter for Diaz, who does not speak English.

Diaz plays first and third base, and can offer a polished bat for the designated hitter role. Cleveland tried him out as an outfielder last year, but has scrapped that project. That has left Diaz blocked by veterans Jose Ramirez, Yonder Alonso and Encarnacion at the MLB level.

The meeting was arranged and Francona was impressed with Lindor’s leadership and with Diaz’s desire to talk, instead of internalizing any frustrations.

“It really impressed me,” Francona said. “It impressed me that he cared enough to want to articulate how he was feeling. It impressed me that Frankie took the time and was thoughtful enough to [do that]. It meant a lot to me. It gave me a chance to say some things to Yandy through Frankie that I hope were meaningful, because sometimes young guys don’t understand. They just see black and white: I’m either here or I’m not. So, I hope it helped.

“He’s a heck of a hitter for a younger guy and he’s going to get better. And we’re just trying to make him understand how important it is to play every aspect of the game. Hopefully, I think he’s starting to get it more and more, because as he does, it’s going to get exciting.”

After the meeting, Francona told Chris Antonetti, the team’s president of baseball operations, about the dialogue that took place.

“We hadn’t even played the game that day and I was strutting around,” Francona said. “I told Chris, ‘My day is already good.’”

Prior to Tuesday’s game at Fenway Park, Lindor was hopping around from the visitors’ bench to the field, doing multiple interviews in both English and Spanish ahead of the marquee matchup with the Red Sox. Approached about the Diaz situation, the shortstop ducked down into the ancient tunnel that runs from the dugout to the locker room, and agreed to hold court out of the eyes of the swarm of media on the field.

Q: How did the meeting with Diaz and Francona come about?

Lindor: “We were talking. We were talking about it. I have him right next to me in Cleveland and he told me, like, ‘Hey, I’m confused. What’s going on?’ I just was like, ‘Hey, just let it out and then we can go talk to Tito.’ And that was OK, because Brantley told me. Brantley was like, ‘Hey, try to talk to him. Try to see.’ So I followed my leader, which is Brantley, and [Diaz] followed me, and next thing you know, everybody was on the same page. That’s what a team is all about.”

Q: Do you think it was a productive meeting?

Lindor: “Yeah, he’s playing loose. He’s having fun. He’s enjoying it. Hopefully he learns from it and goes up there and works as hard as he can day in and day out to be the best player he can be and to help us win.”

Q: What was Yanndy’s message to Francona in all this?

Lindor: “He just feels like he can help us win and he wants to be part of it. He wants to be part of this team. He wants to win. He wants to win a championship. He’s like, ‘What can I do to stay up here?’ I was like, ‘We‘ve got to go talk to the manager. There are certain things I can tell you from my aspect, but there are other things that — let’s go talk to him. I know you don’t speak the language of the manager and you’re a quiet person.’ He’s quiet. He doesn’t talk. ‘I’ll talk for you and you tell me what you want me to say and I’ll say it.’”

Q: Do you feel for Diaz, just because he is such a good hitter, but he’s blocked by Jose and Edwin and Yonder?

Lindor: “Talking to Tito… We have to understand, there are a lot of things that go into the perspective. It’s not, ‘He’s a good hitter. He has to stay in the big leagues.’ There are other things, whether we need a pitcher that day or we need something completely different. We need a baserunner. It’s baseball. There’s more to it that, talking to Tito, he explained to him, he explained to me and I explained to him. He has a clear head. He has an idea why things are happening. And he’s going to go out there and compete day in and day out and do his best.”

Q: So, you think Diaz understands things better now?

Lindor: “Yes, he gets it. I’m like, ‘Hey, what’s going to happen is going to happen, regardless. You control what you can control. Go out there, have fun and play the game as hard as you can. Help us win and if you help us win, trust me, you’ll be up here.’”

Q: Did you appreciate Diaz bringing this up to you instead of keeping it inside?

Lindor: “Yes. Some guys will take it differently. He keeps it to himself and then just lets it out on his actions in the clubhouse. Quietly. It’s one thing being quiet. It’s another thing being head-down, quiet. It’s completely different. You don’t want that. You can be quiet and still be alert. I really appreciated it. It means a lot. It takes a lot to say, ‘I want to win. What can I do?’”

— JB