The Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers just genuinely shocked Major League Baseball with a headliner trade on May 29. A former Reds All-Star is headed to Los Angeles to join a stacked Dodgers roster.
Alexis Diaz, who was demoted to Triple-A after his April 30 meltdown against the St. Louis Cardinals, is reportedly being acquired by LA. The Reds had unfortunately reached the point of no return with the right-hander, as he was also getting rocked in the minor leagues.
Diaz allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits and 12 walks across his 13 2/3 innings of work at Louisville. He also hit two batters and surrendered two homers. That was all the Reds needed to see before trading him for … Mike Villani.
Villani was a 13th-round pick of the Dodgers in the 2024 draft out of Long Beach State University, where he served as the closer. The reliever has logged just two innings of action in 2025.
Reds News: Alexis Diaz traded to Dodgers in shocking May deal
It’s still unclear what exactly happened to the former star closer. The brother of Edwin Diaz recorded 75 saves from 2022-2024, finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, and was an All-Star in 2023. He showed some regression last season, but nothing as alarming as being completely unplayable at the MLB level.
Somehow, he couldn’t even be revived after a month out of the spotlight. He continued to get knocked around by inferior hitters, suggesting that something is very wrong. Diaz completely lost his control and has a Baseball Savant page that would make every nerd puke up their guts worse than the flu.
Whatever the case, he’s the Dodgers’ problem now, and the Reds can move on without this burden lurking beneath the surface. Cincy has enough problems to deal with when it comes to injuries and an inconsistent offense. They really didn’t need more storylines focusing on their star closer’s drastic fall from grace hanging over their head.
Admittedly, the Dodgers are good at reviving distressed assets, but it’s safe to say most Reds fans do not care. They no longer wanted to deal with Diaz’s struggles, and will now welcome the Villani era with open arms.
