The former All-Star closer will have to find his groove out West
In 2023, the Cincinnati Reds were flying high. The Reds young core hit the ground running and it looked like their window was beginning ahead of schedule. Among that core was their only All-Star of the season in closer Alexis Diaz. In only his second big league season, he put up solid numbers, posting a 3.07 ERA and striking out 86 in only 67.1 innings of work. That tenure seems to have officially come to a close today, as the Reds traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Mike Villani.
WIth @JonHeyman hear the Dodgers are close to acquiring Alexis Diaz from the Reds.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 29, 2025
Diaz had been struggling since his all-star season. While he was decent in 2024, it wasn’t the same pitcher that we had seen in 2023 as his strikeout totals dropped and he began allowing more base runners. This season, unfortunately, went off the rails for him. He started the season on the injured list with a hamstring strain and really struggled with his command after getting activated. In only 8 innings of work he allowed 8 runs on 8 hits with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts and unfortunately things did not go much better after he was sent down to Louisville earlier this month.
In return, the Reds get right hander Mike Villani from the Dodgers. Villani was a 13th round draft pick in 2024 out of Long Beach State, where he put up a 3.24 ERA in 25 innings of relief. He has pitched in 2 innings so far this season, allowing no runs and striking out 5.