Reds finally make overdue Alexis Díaz move as fans feel more relief than surprise

The Cincinnati Reds made the only move they could after Wednesday's ninth-inning debacle. The Reds optioned Alexis Diaz to the minor leagues ahead of Thursday's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals and activated right-hander Luis Mey.

Diaz allowed five runs, including back-to-back-to-back home runs during the ninth inning of yesterday's game, and Cincinnati's one-run deficit quickly turned to six. The Reds lost Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader by a final score of 6-0.

Diaz, who was sidelined by a hamstring injury during spring training, had appeared in six games this season. After his meltdown in the ninth inning on Wednesday, Diaz owns an eye-popping 12.00 ERA and has just three punch outs in six innings pitched. This is not the same player who went to the All-Star Game in 2023.

Reds option Alexis Diaz to Triple-A in favor of unproven fireballer Luis Mey

Diaz will head to Triple-A Louisville — a place he's somewhat familiar with after making several rehab appearances for the Bats earlier this season. Diaz needed some extra time to ramp up for the 2025 season and pitched in five games before being activated from the IL in mid-April.

During those five outings, the strikeouts were there, but the command was utterly absent. Diaz recorded eight punch outs in five innings of work but also walked four batters. The former closer has now endured over a season-and-a-half of command and control issue. Last year, Diaz's strikeout rate took a nose dive (22.7%), but his walk rate remained sky-high (12.8%). If you can't throw strikes, you won't last in the big leagues. That's a lesson Diaz just learned the hard way.

The Reds new reliever has a similar makeup in that he doesn't always land his pitches for strikes. Mey, however, has an electric fastball that reaches triple digits and has his raw talent allows the right-hander to atone for his erratic nature.

While Mey had been operating at the backend of the Bats' bullpen, don't expect that to be the case in the big leauges. Reds manager Terry Francona looks to be quite confident with his trio of Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagán shutting down the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, and the addition of Mey is unlikely to disrupt that any time soon.

More Cincinnati Reds News and Rumors