The Cincinnati Reds have found themselves in a weird spot this season. Cincinnati has a lot of talent with a win-now manager at the top step of the dugout. The Reds also added players like Brady Singer, Austin Hays, Gavin Lux and Jose Trevino this offseason, all of which seem like clear "win now" moves. But the Reds also have glaring holes all over their roster that seem to be holding the team back quite a bit.
Even with these glaring holes, the Reds have gotten off a solid start to the 2025 season, and they play in one of the worst divisions in baseball right now. The Chicago Cubs are very talented, but beyond them, there's not much to call home about in the NL Central.
Because of the early-season success and the ability to compete in their division, the Reds could get ultra-aggressive with some of their moves ahead of the trade deadline, including potentially cutting ties with a former All-Star who's struggled tremendously in recent weeks.
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The Reds need to cut ties with Alexis Diaz for the betterment of the team
The player I'm talking about is former closer Alexis Diaz.
The Reds have seemingly already taken the first step to pulling the plug on Diaz's time in Cincinnati; after a disastrous outing last time out, the Reds optioned Diaz to Triple-A and called up pitching prospect Luis Mey. Mey had an excellent first outing with the Reds, tossing a 1-2-3 inning earlier this week.
Diaz was largely uncompetitive during his rehab assignment following an injury to open the season. Once he landed back in the big leagues, to nobody's surprise, he was uncompetitive there, too. While Mey was the Reds' decision to replace Diaz, they could also look to elevate top pitching prospect Zach Maxwell, too. Cincinnati could also explore trade deadline acquisitions if it wants to.
In the past, the Reds would have kept Diaz in the big leagues rather than demoting him in favor of an unproven prospect. With Terry Francona at the helm, it seems like the Reds are willing to be a lot more aggressive to make moves that put the best players on the field in Cincinnati.