The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Alexis Díaz from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for prospect Mike Villani, the club announced on Thursday. To make room on the 40-man roster for Díaz, Evan Phillips was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Díaz was previously optioned to Triple-A by the Reds, and the Dodgers did not add him to their active roster, so he will seemingly report to Oklahoma City while the team attempts to address his issues.
Díaz held a 12.00 ERA in six innings for the Reds this year, but he was once a promising closer. He was a National League All-Star in 2023, going 9-6 with a 3.07 ERA with 37 saves in a career-high 71 games.
The 28-year-old is in his fourth Major League season, and he is 75-for-86 in save opportunities with a 3.21 ERA in 196 games. He has 227 strikeouts in 193.1 innings and has held hitters to a .180 batting average against in four big league seasons.
The right-hander was effective dating back to last season when he tossed 56.1 innings with a 3.99 ERA, and prior to his All-Star season when he was a rookie in 2022, Díaz posted a 1.84 ERA in 63.2 innings.
But after a strong start to his 2024 season, Díaz began to struggle and lost his job as the Reds’ closer. The move comes for the Dodgers with low risk, but high reward.
He was drafted by the Reds in the 12th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Juan Jose Maunez High School in Puerto Rico.
The bullpen has been an issue for the Dodgers early in the 2025 season after entering the season projecting it to be a strength.
A lot of that has to do with the injuries the club is currently dealing with as Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, Kirby Yates and Brusdar Graterol are all on the injured list. That has forced pitchers into roles they shouldn’t be in, and their starting pitching has not gone deep into games, which has caused the bullpen to be overworked.
With the struggles of the bullpen, the Dodgers have been active searching for help, which has included added players such as Ryan Loutus, J.P. Feyereisen, Chris Stratton, and Lou Trivino. The Dodgers have found success with Trivino, and they now hope to help Díaz get his career back on track.
Mike Villani traded for Alexis Díaz
Villani was drafted by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Long Beach State. He signed for $147,500 and made his professional debut this year for the Complex League Dodgers.
He tossed two scoreless innings with one save.
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