The Cincinnati Reds have lost three in a row and five of their last seven overall to fall to 46-45 on the year. While they're still alive in the National League postseason race, they trail the first-place Chicago Cubs by 8.5 games in the NL Central, and they sit 3.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot. Their path toward the postseason is far from easy. A move involving a former scapegoat, Alexis Diaz, could help them get back into the postseason race.
Diaz, one of the best closers in the National League as recently as 2023, struggled so mightily for the Reds in 2024 and 2025 to the point where he was demoted to the minor leagues and eventually traded for peanuts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers just promoted Diaz to the majors on Tuesday, giving him a chance to prove himself as part of their bullpen. Based on how he's performed in the Dodgers' organization, though, this move could end up pushing the Reds further back in the Wild Card standings.
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Alexis Diaz could come back to haunt the Reds
A look at the Dodgers' upcoming schedule shows why the Diaz call-up came at a brutal time for the Reds.
Los Angeles is currently in the middle of a three-game road series against the Milwaukee Brewers, an NL Central rival that the Reds are chasing. They will then head out west to face the San Francisco Giants, another team the Reds trail in the Wild Card race. After the Giants' series, they will welcome the Brewers to Dodger Stadium for three games. Yes, the next eight games the Dodgers play are against teams the Reds are in direct competition with in the Wild Card standings.
Reds fans would love to see the Dodgers take care of business, and they very well might, but you'd have to think adding a reliever like Diaz to their active roster would only make it more challenging for them to do so, right?
While pitching in Triple-A for the Dodgers prior to his call-up, Diaz allowed five runs in 4.2 innings of work (9.64 ERA) and issued seven walks. He had immense trouble with his command with the Reds this season in the majors and in Triple-A, and those issues have persisted with the Dodgers organization.
Might Diaz flip a switch in Los Angeles? Sure. It wouldn't be the first time we've seen a pitcher magically flip a switch once they put on Dodger Blue. Still, Reds fans haven't seen a reliable version of Diaz in a couple of years now. It's not as if things have been any different for him since the trade, either.
Reds fans won't be upset to see Diaz, a pitcher they couldn't stand by the end of his tenure, struggle in Los Angeles, but they'd rather see him implode against teams that have nothing to do with where they end up in the standings. Diaz gifting Reds competitors runs would be just the latest example of this right-hander haunting Reds fans.