Trade interest in Reds pitcher Alexis Diaz is laughable and downright insulting

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer's (subscription required) Bobby Nightengale, a few teams have "checked in" on availablity of Reds right-handed reliever Alexis Diaz.

The Cincinnati Reds added Diaz to the team's 40-man roster about a year ago. The younger brother of New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz had a spectacular rookie season and even finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

While the trade interest in Alexis Diaz is to be expected because of the Reds obvious teardown, it's also insulting for other teams to even ask if the right-hander is available.

Trade interest in Reds RHP Alexis Diaz is laughable and outright insulting.

The Cincinnati Reds are rebuilding. Everyone knows that. And during a rebuild, it's not uncommon for teams to flip highly-valued MLB-caliber players for future assets. Fans saw the Reds do that during the offseason with Sonny Gray and Eugenio Suarez. The front office then doubled-down at the trade deadline by dealing Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle.

But someone like Alexis Diaz is exactly the type of player that the Reds are hoping to hang on to. The reliever went 7-3 with a 1.84 ERA in 59 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen while also recording 10 saves during his first season in the majors. Diaz's sabremetric stats are also very good.

But more than the terrific rookie campaign that Diaz logged in 2022, he's under team control for another five years; two of which will be at the league minimum. Diaz does not even become eligible for arbitration until after the 2024 season.

While it's true that relievers can be quite finicky from one year to the next, Cincinnati is in no position to trade Diaz. The 26-year-old was the lone bright spot in the Reds bullpen last season and looks to be a star in the making.

Alexis Diaz fits perfectly into the Cincinnati Reds next potential window for contention. The 2023 season looks pretty bleak, and unless something changes drastically, 2024 will be pretty lean as well.

But with no guaranteed contracts beyond next season, and players like Diaz, Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Tyler Stephenson, Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz, and Noelvi Marte hopefully hitting their stride in 2025, the Reds will be looking to contend for a National League Central Division Championship.