Dodgers trade for struggling Reds reliever Alexis Diaz to help ailing bullpen
Neither Alexis Díaz nor the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen have met expectations this year, but the team is about to see if a marriage can work.
The defending champions acquired the former All-Star closer in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, adding a new arm to one of the most injury-ravaged units in baseball. Going back to the Reds is 2024 13th-round pick Mike Villani.
Advertisement
Reliever Evan Phillips was also placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.
Per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Díaz is not expected to report to the Dodgers immediately, meaning he will likely remain in the minor leagues for now.
Alexis Díaz is a reclamation project for the Dodgers
The trade would have been a bigger story two years ago. After 2023, Díaz was coming off his first career All-Star season and held a 2.47 ERA in 131 career innings with 47 saves and 169 strikeouts. With a mid-90s fastball and one of baseball's better sliders, he looked like one of MLB's best young relievers.
Advertisement
Unfortunately, relievers can go from All-Star to out of the big leagues rather quickly. Díaz disappointed in 2024 with a 3.99 ERA, then missed the start of 2025 due to a hamstring strain. When he came back in mid-April, he was unusable, allowing eight earned runs in six innings before Cincinnati demoted him to Triple-A, where he now holds a 4.61 ERA.
Will Alexis Diaz be the Dodgers' latest success story? (Photo by)
(Dustin Bradford via Getty Images)
What went wrong? Well, Díaz's slider went from being a pitch batters were posting a .153 batting average and .225 slugging percentage against in 2023 to .385 and 1.000 this year. Even last season was a warning sign as well, as he went from a 30.1% strikeout rate in 2023 to 22.7% in 2024 to 9.1% in 2025. He just doesn't have an out pitch now.
And now, the Reds are giving up on him putting it back together, trading him away for a minor leaguer in Villani who has pitched two career innings in affiliated ball.
The Dodgers just need arms now, though
While stories like Díaz's often require some tinkering with the new team before he hits the big-league mound, the Dodgers could seemingly use any reliever available these days.
Advertisement
The Dodgers bullpen was supposed to be one of the best in baseball after they signed Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates to more than $100 million in contracts, with Michael Kopech, Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips still on the roster, but all of those relievers are on the IL right now save for Scott, who is having his own issues.
Scott has blown five saves already this season and had perhaps his worst outing yet on Wednesday, when he blew a two-run lead and was eventually was saddled with four earned runs in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
As a unit, the Dodgers bullpen currently ranks 17th in MLB with a 3.98 ERA (and first in innings with 239 2/3, as their rotation hasn't been great either). They've been regularly cycling through low-leverage relievers, so if Díaz looks at all usable, they will probably use him, especially with him already holding a 40-man roster spot.
Relievers in Díaz's position have found success with the Dodgers before, so it's hard to count him out here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Mets being Dodgers' peers should force David Stearns to alter trade deadline formula
So much has changed for the Mets in the past calendar year. Access the Mets beat like never before Don't miss Mike Puma's text messages from Queens and beyond — he's giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets. Sign up Now On June 8 of last year, the Mets were 27-36, fourth in the NL East and, even in a forgiving National League in which just five teams were above .500 at that time, Fangraphs gave them just an 11.3 percent chance to make the playoffs. Advertisement From then through their series against the Dodgers, the Mets had played the equivalent of a 162-game season and had gone 101-61, which was five games better than the second-best record — which belonged to the Tigers, another incredible before-and-after picture. Perhaps nothing exemplifies the transformation for the Mets in this time better than how toe-to-toe competitive they were in the recently completed home-and-home with the Dodgers. By this time last year, the Mets also were done with their regular season games against Los Angeles and had gone 2-4, including getting swept three games at Citi Field by a combined 18-5 in late May.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code SBWIREDYW: Unlock 10 100% Profit Boosts for UFC 316 & More
Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code SBWIREDYW: Unlock 10 100% Profit Boosts for UFC 316 & More Two title fights for UFC 316 are more than enough to whet your appetite for the octagon and the Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW that turns a $1 first bet on any of tonight's bouts into 100% profit boosts that you can attach to any 10 bets over the next two weeks. There are both men's and women's bantamweight belts on the line tonight at Newark, N.J.'s Prudential Center. Julianna Pena takes on No. 2 contender Kayla Harrison for the women's title, while men's champ Merab Dvalishvili faces No. 1 contender Sean O'Malley. You can explore these UFC betting promos while checking out the odds, including Dvalishvili as a -285 favorite against O'Malley (+230). Here is how one of the best sportsbook promo codes currently available to new bettors works: Make a minimum bet of $1 on any of the fights on tonight's card and win or lose, the Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW awards you 10 100% profit boosts tokens. Attach these tokens to any 10 bets over the next 14 days, and they will double the profits in any winning wager. You can handle everything on the go when you download the official Caesars app to add one of the top-ranked sports betting apps to your library. Get started now and claim the Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW then watch your profits get boosted. Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code SBWIREDYW: 10 100% Profit Boosts Guaranteed for MLB, Stanley Cup & More 📱 Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code SBWIREDYW 🤑 Caesars Sportsbook Promo Bet $1, Get 10 100% Profit Boosts ✅ Terms & Conditions New customers 21 and over in AZ, CO, IL, IA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, OH, NC, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV. 18 and over in WY & DC; first bet must be at least $1; profit boosts expire after 14 days. ✔️ Last Verified June 7, 2025 The Yankees and Red Sox renew baseball's best rivalry this weekend in the Bronx. Boston's ace Garrett Crochet takes the mound for Game 2 of the series tonight against an undisclosed Yankee starter. Crochet leads the American League and is tied for the Major League lead with 101 strikeouts, and his 1.98 ERA is fifth-best in the AL. Boston needs to win at least two of three in this series, especially the game started by Crochet or the Sox could be out of it by Independence Day. Best Bets with Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW: Saturday, June 7 MLB: Dodgers at Cardinals, 2:15 p.m. ET Dodgers at Cardinals, 2:15 p.m. ET MLB: Red Sox at Yankees, 7:35 p.m. Red Sox at Yankees, 7:35 p.m. MLB : Padres at Brewers, 7:35 p.m. : Padres at Brewers, 7:35 p.m. UFC: UFC 316 from Newark, N.J. 10 p.m. The RBC Canadian Open continues today and tomorrow, with a strong field competing in the final prep before next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont. Check out the latest odds, specials and golf betting promos available at Caesars Sportsbook. The NBA Finals resume tomorrow with Game 2 in Oklahoma City, while Florida and Edmonton head to Sunrise for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. Championship fights and championship rounds are all at your disposal with the Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW. Find any BET NOW button to get started with a new account then place at least a $1 bet. No matter how that bet settles, you'll receive the 10 100% profit boosts that will double any 10 winning bets over a 14-day window. How to Claim The Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code Bonus Offer It takes just a few moments to secure your Caesars Sportsbook promo code offer: Click any BET NOW link on this page to open the Caesars Sportsbook offer page. Your Caesars Sportsbook promo code should appear on the landing page; if not, when prompted for a promo code during sign up either type or paste it in. Select your state and click 'Join Now.' Enter a current email address, set up a secure password and provide your cell phone number. Answer some basic personal questions to verify age, identification and location. Select a banking option to place at least a $10 initial deposit. Caesars Sportsbook Promo Code Terms & Conditions The Caesars Sportsbook promo code SBWIREDYW code entitles you to 10 100% profit-boost tokens just for placing that $1 first bet. You'll have 14 days to use your tokens. Attach a token to any bet that you'd like to double your profit on. Just keep in mind you can't use a token on a bet bigger than $25 or odds more conservative than -10000. The maximum added profit per boost is $2,500. Bonus bets are non-withdrawable. But the Caesars Sportsbook promo code features a 1X playthrough policy, so any bonus bet needs to win just once for you to collect the profit in cash.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dodgers' Mookie Betts Sends Clear Message About Latest Position Change
Dodgers' Mookie Betts Sends Clear Message About Latest Position Change originally appeared on Athlon Sports. For the first time in a long time, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts looks, dare we say it, mortal. Advertisement Lost amid Shohei Ohtani's latest incredible season is Betts' relatively quiet numbers, at least by his standards. Betts owns a .268 average with eight home runs, 32 RBI, and a .752 OPS through 251 plate appearances. Although Betts is already worth 2.0 bWAR, he's on track for career lows in average and OPS. He's also only mustered six doubles, putting him in jeopardy of his fewest doubles since his 2014 rookie campaign. Could it be Father Time sneaking up on the 32-year-old slugger? Whatever it is, Betts shot down the idea that his full-time move to shortstop has impacted his swing. "Last year, I think I was about to win MVP," Betts told reporters. For the record, Betts finished 13th in NL MVP voting, his lowest finish since 2021. Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie BettsBrad Penner-Imagn Images "I was doing way more work last year than now," the eight-time All-Star continued. "So, no, that's not the case. ... There's no excuses. It's just a matter of me getting it done." Advertisement After primarily playing right field from 2016-23, Betts split last season between shortstop, the outfield, and second base. He's exclusively played shortstop thus far. Betts indeed got it done on Friday night, going 3-for-4 in a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Neither Betts nor manager Dave Roberts have signaled he could switch positions again. Tommy Edman has posted 1.4 bWAR and a .748 OPS as the Dodgers' starting second baseman, and Roberts appears committed to keeping the struggling Michael Conforto in left field. Related: Dodgers Predicted to Make Bold Shohei Ohtani Lineup Change After Potential Trade Related: Dodgers' $17 Million Bust Has Words About Playing With Shohei Ohtani This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
