Yan

Some say it’s ridiculous.

Some say it’s refreshing.

Some say it’s unprofessional.

Some say it’s all in good fun.

One thing is certain — Mets relief pitcher Jefry Yan got everyone’s attention with his high-flying, post-strikeout celebration during his MLB debut on Wednesday in Cleveland against the Guardians.

Called up from triple-A Syracuse a day earlier, the 29-year-old Dominican left-hander took the mound to start the bottom of the sixth inning and faced Guardians pinch-hitter Ángel Martínez. Five pitches into the at-bat, Yan caught the hitter looking on an 88.7-mph slider for a called third strike.

Then came the celebration. Yan jumped up — way up — into the air, contorting his legs into somewhat of a split. He landed in a crouch position and slapped the ground before popping up, standing still with his hands up for a fraction of a second, then walking back up the mound with a bit of a leg slide to commemorate his first Major League strikeout.

“Once I had him with two strikes I said, you know what, I’m going to throw that slider,” Yan said through an interpreter after the Mets’ 6-5 victory in 10 innings. “And if I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I celebrated accordingly.”

Several batters later, however, Yan commemorated his second major league strikeout similarly. Yan had given up two singles and a walk to load the bases before getting Cleveland designated hitter Chase DeLauter on a 90-mph slider for strike three and the second out of the inning.

Once again, Yan did the whole jumping, landing, ground-slapping thing (no slide this time though). Later in the game, Cleveland’s José Ramírez was seen in the dugout apparently imitating Yan’s airborne style of rejoicing.

While most MLB fans might be seeing Yan’s post-strikeout air show for the first time, the celebrations have actually become a signature move for the player during his long, unconventional journey to the majors.

After initially signing with the Angels organization as a teenage international free agent in 2013, Yan eventually spent several years out of affiliated baseball, playing for semipro and amateur teams while also working odd jobs.

He was signed by the Miami Marlins organization in 2021, followed by the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball and the Colorado Rockies organization before the Mets last August.

Yan has other methods of celebrating during games as well. On Wednesday, after Guardians right fielder Jo Adell — playing his second game for Cleveland after being traded by the Angels earlier in the week — grounded into a fielder’s choice at shortstop to end the inning, Yan did a low slide move and slapped his chest, then smacked his glove emphatically several times and blew a kiss toward the sky while leaving the field.

Cleveland fans expressed their displeasure, but Yan wasn’t bothered.

“If they want to yell at me, if they want to boo me, they can do whatever they want,” Yan said. “I’m in my zone. And yeah, I’m going to enjoy my game any way that I want to.”

Yan gave up two hits and no runs with two strikeouts and one walk in one inning pitched. Five of his pitches, all sliders, reached triple digits on the speed gun.

“It’s real stuff. It’s really impressive,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “To get out of a bases-loaded jam, get your first punchout, just excited for him. He deserves that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Real Madrid have signed Ivory Coast international Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig for a fee worth up to £120m (140m euros).

The 19-year-old winger has signed a seven-year contract and his price tag could surpass the £115m (133.9m euros) Real agreed to pay Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in June 2023.

Paris St-Germain had been frontrunners for the teenager but the Champions League winners pulled out of a potential move on Sunday after a £102.5m bid was rejected.

Diomande was previously a target for Liverpool, who had an initial bid of £69m rejected in June, as they search for a Mohamed Salah replacement, who has left the club.

Diomande is Real’s sixth summer signing under new head coach Jose Mourinho, joining Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and Carlos Espi.

In a statement, the teenager thanked Leipzig fans for their “incredible support”, and said: “Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again one day in the Champions League.”

But he said the move to Madrid “is a childhood dream come true”, adding: “I am all the more grateful to the management at RB Leipzig for making this move possible despite my current contract.”

He was named the Bundesliga’s Young Player of the Season for 2025-26, having scored 12 goals and registered eight assists in the competition.

He appeared in all four of Ivory Coast’s World Cup games as they were eliminated in the round of 32 by Norway.

Diomande moved from his native Ivory Coast to an academy in the United States before joining Spanish side Leganes in 2025 and then Leipzig later that year.

After an eventful couple of months, Yan Diomande, one of football’s top young prospects, is about to get his wish of joining a European powerhouse.

The 19-year-old is signing with Real Madrid in what can only be described as a record-setting transfer.

The Spanish giants will pay more than £100m for Diomande – making him a new record sale for RB Leipzig and he is expected to also become a new record signing for Real Madrid.

Simultaneously, Diomande becomes the most expensive African player in history.

His rise to stardom has also occurred seemingly in record time as less than 18 months ago he was almost completely unknown.

Only scouts and insiders were aware of a skinny winger who had previously played for Florida-based DME Academy, more renowned for its basketball programme.

Diomande had trials with Chelsea, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Rangers and Olympiacos but remained unsigned until he was picked up by La Liga side Leganes.

Within only a few months and 10 games in the Spanish top flight he increased his market value considerably, eventually signing with Leipzig for 20m euros.

The Red Bull-funded club believed they had acquired a diamond. And they were right. Almost from the get-go, Diomande looked like one of the most exciting players in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists across competitions in his first full season in Europe.

Initially, Leipzig intended to keep him for another year, hoping his market value would increase even further, but the demand was simply too high.

Liverpool, Paris St-Germain and finally Real Madrid showed so much interest in the winger, who also played for his home country of Ivory Coast at the World Cup, that the Bundesliga side had to give way and agree to a deal.

A lot can be said about the steadily increasing prices on an overheated transfer market where even prospects can demand fees in the nine digits, but Diomande is special. A hyper athletic and very creative winger, it is not far-fetched to consider him among the best dribblers in Europe already.

Obviously, there is still a degree of rawness to his game, but he made a leap forward in the past 12 months and there’s no reason he couldn’t develop further at the tender age of 19.

His passing skills are also somewhat underrated because he is the embodiment of a dribble-first winger. Diomande connected very well with right-back Ridle Baku at Leipzig and may look even stronger with the support of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella.

Diomande is able to play on both wings. A right-footer, he was mostly employed on the left side by Leganes but found a home on the right at Leipzig. At the World Cup, he played in both positions for Ivory Coast.