The Cincinnati Reds have demoted struggling reliever Alexis Diaz to Triple-A Louisville in an effort to get him back on track after a rocky start to the 2025 MLB campaign.
Currently sporting a 12.00 ERA, 2.17 WHIP, and -0.5 WAR, Diaz has stumbled out of the gates across his first 6 appearances at the Major League level. A former All-Star in 2023 when he recorded 37 saves for the Reds, the 28 year old has given up 4 home runs, and walked 5 batters across just 6 innings pitched.
“We decided to let him try to figure out, get right in Triple-A,” manager Terry Francona said. “The consistency just isn’t there. It’s difficult to hear that, I’m sure. We don’t want that to derail him either.”
The breaking point came Wednesday when Diaz entered in the top of the 9th inning trailing the Cardinals 1-0. Diaz started by hitting the leadoff batter, then proceeded to give up back-to-back-to-back home runs, followed by a walk. The Reds would go on to lose the game 6-0.
“We told him, ‘Hey, we’re not giving up on you. Just want you to be more consistent,'” Francona said. “We need him to help us win.”
The native of Humacao, Puerto Rico began the season on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, and hasn’t looked right since his return. During his absence, reliever Emilio Pagan took over closing duties, and has since notched 8 saves, which is good for 4th most in the National League.
In a corresponding move, the Reds recalled RHP Luis May from Triple-A on Thursday. The 6’5″ fireballer has notched 10 strikeouts across 9 innings pitched for the Bats. Although he’s given up 4 earned runs during that timeframe, he’s managed to keep the ball inside the park, surrendering 0 home runs to date. Something which has been troublesome for Diaz not just this season, but also down the stretch in 2024 as well.
Cincinnati will close out their series against St. Louis on Thursday before welcoming the visiting Washington Nationals to town on Friday evening. Through 31 games, the Reds are 16-15, which is good for 3rd place in the NL Central, 2 games back of the division leading Cubs.
Photo: Latinos En Pelota. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.