The Cincinnati Reds have made a set of roster moves today. Late last night we learned that the team was going to be calling up right-handed reliever Luis Mey from Triple-A Louisville. We did not know what the other side of that roster move was going to be. This morning we found out that it was Alexis Diaz being optioned to Triple-A.
It has been a rough year for Alexis Diaz. After being the Reds closer for the last two-and-a-half season, he’s gone from lock-down to shaky. But generally speaking he was still getting the job done when called upon to close games.
This spring a hamstring injury in the spring kept him out of games early on. That led to a late start to pitching in games and he missed the early part of April before rehabbing with Louisville. In both late spring training games and in Louisville he struggled with both control and execution of his pitches. His velocity was also down. Cincinnati, though, called him up after about a week of rehab outings.
Things did not go well. Through six games with the Reds he’s allowed eight runs in 6.0 innings. Hitters have walked five times, been hit two other times, racked up eight hits, and Diaz has just three strikeouts while facing 33 batters. All of that culminated in his demotion back to the minor leagues, where he hasn’t pitched since the 2021 season.
When Alexis Diaz showed up in the big leagues back in 2022 he averaged 95.8 MPH with his fastball. It wasn’t elite velocity, but when combined with the rise he got on his fastball it was an elite pitch. But his velocity has dropped every year since then. In 2025 he’s averaged just 93.3 MPH with his fastball.
It hasn’t just been the fastball velocity that’s been a problem this year. He’s showed less depth with his slider, too. The sample size is small, but guys have been hitting it well between the spring, his rehab, and his short time with the Reds this season.
He’s going to head off to Triple-A and hopefully get things moving in the right direction.
Still waiting for a beat reporter to take a deeper dive into what’s going on here. I’d love for them to ask how the organization felt about his conditioning, mechanics, repertoire coming into spring training and where they (and Diaz) feel he is at right now. Poor guy just seems depressed and lost.
For each of the past four seasons his numbers have declined compared to the previous year. Unless he can figure this out quickly, his MLB career is drawing to a close.
WOW, figured they would just send Petty down
They did. But he was the 27th man, so they still needed another spot.
guess i missed that one…
is that a swinging strike 3 on me or was i caught looking ?
Well, bye….
He avoided arbitration, so he is due his $4.5 Mil whether he is in the Majors or Minors.
And if he bombs at AAA level, the Reds will likely swallow the remainder of his contract. There is not much choice here.
And if Hays can’t play, put him on the IL and call up somebody…..like Rece Hinds…..somebody that can play an hold a roster spot. Lux continuing to play LF is not a good look.
I would almost rather have McLain play left and Espinal play 2nd base.
This isn’t a new development. Been this way for the last year and a half. I heard last year that there was only one pitcher in MLB who’s release point was closer to the plate than Diaz. If you lose a little movement and a little velocity on your pitches I would think that negates that advantage. I haven’t been able to watch the Reds since the Bally Sports bankruptcy because my provider doesn’t broadcast their games anymore but it seemed like he would bend over after every pitch and straighten out his pant legs. He seemed more concerned about how he looked than how to get hitters out. If nothing else I would think that such a big person bending over so much could cause back problems that could be detrimental to a pitchers success.
I thought Torres was going to get the call instead of Mey, has put some good numbers, but not in 40-man.
It is such a relief to see bold moves like this from this coaching staff. One amongst many so far this season. Tito and his staff are doing a tremendous job of changing the culture…at least from the outside looking in. Accountability is finally a priority.
Except that Krall is responsible for managing the 26/40-man rosters. I’m sure the coaching staff has input, but the person responsible for these decisions remains unchanged.
If the person responsible for these moves wants to keep his job he better be listening to the current manager. haha
@Melvin, “Haha” ???
My meaning is who do you think has more clout with Big Bob & Son? Krall had better take very seriously ANYTHING Tito has to say. Nothing against your post.
Melvin, do you have inside information?
Do you think Krall and Tito are isolated from one another and Tito has no say? You don’t have to squint to see the difference in decision making from the past several seasons to this one. Krall is the constant. So what has changed? Seems obvious enough to me.
As BK said, it seems certain that Tito and the coaches have input. I agree that decisions seem to be made differently from past seasons, and Tito may be part of the reason. But it’s also the case that the roster is deeper and generally better than it has been recently, and that makes decisions like sending Diaz down easier.
The Marte situation was handled so well that there has to be coordination between the front off and Francona, his coaching staff, and the minor league staff.
This is the right thing to do with Diaz. He looks lost and something is increasingly wrong physically. It is injury, lack of conditioning, mental state, mechanics, something else?! Who knows. Right now it looks like all those things. But just like Marte, there’s a chance to help Diaz rebuild himself. Imagine if he’s able to return to the team close to his old self near the deadline? That has to be the focus.
Not a surprise. The only question goes back to Francona’s comments earlier this year on Diaz have mechanical problems. Was he called up before they were fixed, etc. If so, that’s clearly on the FO. Regardless, it’s on Diaz. Fix your bad habits. Or ship him off to someone else.
Tito on Diaz, “He has to figure it out. We just can’t afford for him to do it at this level”.
Sure is nice to get a straight answer from the manager
YES
TOTALLY agree! It’s refreshing, and still feels kinda novel.
First Candy to the bench and now Diaz sent down.Not easy for any player I am sure but obviously the right thing to do and well it tells me this is a new day and different point in time we are now seeing.Very important step IMO of establishing a change in culture for the Reds going forward.Winning comes first and when it obvious changes need to be made they are going to be made.Got to believe may see some time in the minors or IL for MM and Steer coming as well.Both trying to overcome injuries and well its not happening so we will see.
I hope the Team is able take some time to help Diaz and Candy get right. Both returning to form around and the second half of the season could be a huge boost.
And for the Reds it’s way better to “re-develop” existing talent than to go and try to buy more.
Do It All Espinal comes through with a two RBI single. 🙂