Sitting at 34-22 on the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t a team that is in dire need of all that much help. But on Thursday, they got just that in a former All-Star closer that they could help regain his former level of play.
Alexis Diaz has spent most of the 2025 MLB season in the minors after a truly disastrous start to the year, allowing eight earned runs in just six innings of work with the Cincinnati Reds. But it wasn’t all that long ago that Diaz appeared to be one of the more promising relievers in all of baseball, making an All-Star game appearance in 2023.
While the Reds clearly believe that Diaz may be damaged goods, the Dodgers see an opportunity to bring in a reliever with a ton of promise in the past that they can potentially fix.
On Thursday, the Dodgers made the move to trade for Diaz. In return, the Reds will be getting back Mike Villani, a prospect selected in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft.
The Dodgers are acquiring reliever Alexis Diaz in a trade with the Reds, sources say. Mike Villani, a 13th round pick by the Dodgers in the 2024 draft, is going to the Reds. @JonHeyman and @joelsherman1 were on it.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 29, 2025
In the first two seasons of his MLB career, Diaz sported a 1.84 and a 3.07 ERA, which the Dodgers likely had in mind when they made the move to go and get him.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers go about utilizing Diaz as they look to revive his once-promising career. But if they are able to get the best out of Diaz, they should be adding a very valuable piece to their already talented bullpen.
