Alexis Díaz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring right-handed reliever Alexis Diaz from the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, a source tells The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. It's unknown what the Dodgers are sending back to the Reds in return. Diaz is expected to report to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 28-year-old former All-Star dealt with an injury in spring training and was sent to the minors by the Reds after allowing eight earned runs on eight hits (four home runs) while walking five and striking out three in six innings of work earlier this season. Things weren't a whole lot better at Triple-A Louisville, as he posted a 4.61 ERA and 1.90 WHIP with two saves, 16 strikeouts and 12 walks in 13 2/3 relief innings. Diaz, the brother of Mets closer Edwin Diaz, had a 1.84 ERA in his rookie year in 2022 and 75 saves in his first three seasons, but his command has abandoned him. The Dodgers are hoping to fix him and give themselves even more late-inning bullpen depth.

The Cincinnati Reds announced on Thursday that they optioned right-handed reliever Alexis Diaz to Triple-A Louisville and recalled right-hander Luis Mey from Louisville in a corresponding move. Diaz's 2025 season has gone from bad to worse after he surrendered five earned runs on four hits while walking one in his inning of work in the 6-0 loss in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. The 28-year-old's slider was flat, and he allowed back-to-back-to-back homers in the disastrous outing. Through six relief innings for the Reds this year, the Puerto Rican hurler has surrendered eight earned runs on eight hits (four homers) while walking five and striking out three. Diaz also struggled with his mechanics in spring training and opened the season on the injured list, so nothing has really gone right. Emilio Pagan will continue on in Cincy's closer role for the foreseeable future.

The Cincinnati Reds announced on Tuesday that they activated right-handed reliever Alexis Diaz (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list prior to their game against the visiting Seattle Mariners. However, manager Terry Francona said that Diaz won't be the set closer upon his activation. The skipper said it's fair to pitch Diaz "when it makes sense." Diaz could get the closer job back eventually this year, but the Reds have been pleased with Emilio Pagan's early-season performance -- 1.23 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, four saves and five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old Diaz not only injured his hamstring in spring training, but he was all over the place with his control and his mechanics were out of whack. Expect the Puerto Rican reliever to start out in low-leverage situations out of the bullpen before eventually being moved to a more high-leverage role. He's still worth stashing in fantasy for save opps this year.