CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Following two months where former All-Star Alexis Díaz underwhelmed, underperformed and made a poor impression, the Cincinnati Reds are close to trading him to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Mike Villani, a 22-year-old reliever who the Dodgers drafted in the 13th-round last year.
Essentially, the Reds gave up on Díaz reaching the potential that he showed in 2022 and 2023 and for spurts in 2024.
Díaz was the Reds’ closer for the entire 2024 season, but Terry Francona didn’t name him the closer at the start of 2025 spring training. That started a tumultuous few months that resulted in a trip to Triple-A for Díaz followed by Friday’s trade.
Despite saying that he was healthy at the end of spring training, Díaz started the year on the IL so that he could work on his mechanics. In an uncommon set of circumstances, Díaz just threw bullpens for the first few weeks of the season before beginning a rehab assignment. He was healthy enough to pitch, but his mechanics were all out of sorts and could aggravate his hamstring.
Reds director of baseball operations Nick Krall said that Alexis Diaz did not request a trade.
“Where he was two years ago, the first half of 2023, and where he is, he’s obviously not where he needs to be. He’s a great kid. It’s just one of those where a change of scenery might help him.”
“He’s in Triple-A, and we have other guys we have brought up ahead of him. He wasn’t going to be brought up tomorrow (they have an open bullpen spot). We felt like it was the right time to make this move.”
“We ended up clearing a roster spot. We can reallocate some of the resources. We got a pitcher back that we like.”
Analytically, his stuff took a major step back. Díaz was a great strikeout pitcher in 2023, but he didn’t show that same zip this year. He also didn’t generate swing and miss. Command was a major issue, including outings in Triple-A where Díaz’s pitches landed all over the place.
Francona had Díaz pitch to re-earn his closer role, and he didn’t. In fact, Díaz could have been optioned earlier than he was in April following games where he pitched the Reds out of it. His effort in a game in Miami in particular was a cause for concern. Then, after another poor effort in a loss vs. the Cardinals, Díaz was optioned.
The Dodgers see a clear buy low opportunity, hoping that a fresh start reinvigorates Díaz. That’s happened for a few former Reds relievers, including Luke Weaver and Jeff Hoffman who went on to become two of the best relievers in MLB after leaving Cincinnati. The Reds don’t get many shots at All-Star talents. Impact relievers are especially difficult to find, and the Reds likely won’t be the team that ever splurges for a superstar closer in free agency.
Selling low on Díaz represents an organizational loss for the Reds, who declined overtures to trade for Díaz when his stock was at its highest. They built this team with the idea that he’d be their standout closer.
On the bright side for the Reds, Graham Ashcraft and Tony Santillan have the potential to be that type of pitcher. Luis Mey and Zach Maxwell could step into that role down the road. Emilio Pagán has been a solid closer.
It wasn’t working out with Díaz, and the Reds parted ways.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 WXIX. All rights reserved.