The Dodgers acquired reliever Alexis Díaz from the Reds for minor league right-hander Mike Villani on Thursday afternoon. Los Angeles transferred Evan Phillips to the 60-day injured record to create a spot on the 40-man roster. In response to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Occasions, Díaz will report back to the Dodgers’ Arizona services to work with the membership’s pitching workforce.
Diaz, 28, has seen his inventory drop precipitously since ending fifth in 2022 Rookie of the Yr voting and making the All-Star workforce in 2023. He’s misplaced almost three miles per hour off his once-96 mph fastball and seen his already problematic stroll fee climb to untenable ranges. He appeared in six video games with Cincinnati this season, surrendered 4 homers, walked 15.6% of his opponents in opposition to only a 9.8% strikeout fee, and plunked two different batters — all en path to a catastrophic 12.00 ERA.
Issues haven’t gone significantly better since he was despatched right down to Louisville. Diaz’s 4.61 ERA is a far sight higher than his small-sample mark of 12.00 within the majors, however he’s walked 17.1% of his Triple-A opponents, hit two extra batters and likewise unleashed a pair of untamed pitches. His 93.1 mph common fastball is correct in step with the career-worst 93.0 mark he flashed on this 12 months’s six main league innings.
Had been Diaz’s struggles confined to simply the 2025 season, it’d be simpler to view him by a extra optimistic lens. That’s not the case. Whereas final 12 months’s 3.99 ERA seems to be serviceable on the floor, that quantity belies most of the identical worrying traits which have plagued Diaz in 2025. Final 12 months’s common 93.9 mph fastball marked a drop of almost two miles per hour from Diaz’s rookie fee. His 22.7% strikeout fee and 11% swinging-strike fee have been each miles worse than his charges in 2022-23. Diaz’s contact fee jumped from about 67% in 2022-23 to 76.3% final 12 months (and a dismal 87.1% in 2025). All of these worrying traits made Diaz stand out as a viable non-tender candidate, however the Reds saved him round and agreed to a $4.5MM contract to keep away from an arbitration listening to. They’re absolutely regretting that call at this stage.
Suffice it to say, whereas Diaz has loads of title worth — each as a former All-Star and because the youthful brother of Mets nearer Edwin Diaz — he’s a pure mission at this level. The Dodgers made no point out of money concerns of their swap, so it appears they’ll tackle the whole lot of Diaz’s remaining wage. As of this writing, that’s a complete of $2.95MM in wage. Los Angeles can pay a 110% luxurious tax on that determine, tacking one other $3.25MM onto the invoice and bringing the overall monetary outlay to $6.2MM.
That’s a steep worth to pay — earlier than even stepping into any prospects altering fingers — but when L.A. can efficiently get Diaz again on observe, he’ll be below membership management for 3 further seasons through arbitration. Getting into the 12 months, that was scheduled to be one other two seasons, however his demotion to Triple-A has already value him sufficient service time to push that timeframe again by a 12 months. The Dodgers handed on an analogous buy-low alternative with Brewers righty Joel Payamps, who was designated for task and handed by waivers, presumably on account of Payamps’ lack of minor league choices. Diaz entered 2025 with a full slate of minor league choices and could have two remaining past the present season.
It’ll be fascinating to see if the Dodgers hold Diaz on the 40-man roster. There’d be some threat in working him by waivers, however most golf equipment would most likely balk on the concept of taking over almost $3MM in assured cash for a reclamation mission who’s struggled this a lot each within the majors and in Triple-A. If the Dodgers have been to move Diaz by waivers, they might assign him outright to Triple-A and free the 40-man spot again up, figuring out that Diaz would by no means reject the task in favor of free company (as a result of doing so would require forfeiting the rest of this 12 months’s assured cash).
As for the 22-year-old Villani, he’s a long-term play for the Reds. The Dodgers chosen him out of Lengthy Seaside State within the thirteenth spherical of final 12 months’s draft. Baseball America ranked him 453rd on their top-500 record of draft prospects final 12 months, praising a fastball that runs as much as 98 mph however questioning his lack of spin and really feel for secondary pitches. Villani instructions that heater effectively, per BA, however he’s barely gotten an opportunity to indicate it in professional ball, as accidents have restricted him to simply two innings with the Dodgers’ Rookie-level affiliate.
Villani is successfully a lottery ticket aid prospect who’s most likely two or three years away from even rising as a sensible choice for the Reds — all of which speaks to the extent to which Diaz’s inventory has tumbled since he stopped lacking bats and misplaced two to 3 miles per hour on his fastball.
Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of The New York Put up first reported the Dodgers have been nearing a commerce for Diaz. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Villani was going again to Cincinnati.
