As the Atlanta Braves bullpen continues to struggle to close the 2025 season, Alex Anthopoulos and the front office continue to look for creative options to improve their relief corps for the remainder of the season and beyond. In their latest move, the Braves claimed Alexis Díaz off of waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Díaz's past season hasn't been pretty, the righty reliever is only two seasons removed from an All-Star appearance.
Braves add Alexis Díaz with waiver claim as bullpen shuffle continues
Díaz, the younger brother of New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz, has had an underwhelming year so far. The righty looked to bounce back with the Cincinnati Reds from what was at the time a disappointing 2024, where he finished the year with a 3.99 ERA and a 4.57 FIP. Instead, after walking nearly twice as many batters as he struck out in his first six innings and allowing eight runs, the Reds shipped him down to the minors.
Díaz spent a month with the Louisville Bats before the Reds traded him to the Dodgers in late May. Díaz then spent most of his time in the Dodgers organization in Triple-A, but did appear in nine games with LA, pitching nine innings with a 5.00 ERA. Los Angeles designated the reliever for assignment late last week.
Obviously, the Braves are hoping that they're able to get the righty back to where he was during his first two years in the bigs, where he had a 2.47 ERA through his first 131 innings. Realistically, however, that might be a tall task.
Díaz's advanced metrics have not been pretty in his 15 big league innings, as his strikeouts are way down (16.9%) while his walks continue to stay high. His minor league results are equally disappointing, as he has a 7.80 ERA between the Reds and Dodgers organization.
Overall, this is a low-risk, high reward move for the Braves, as Díaz has two more years of arbitration and would likely not command a high salary for next season. If the Braves can help him get back to his 2023 form, he'd be a perfect addition for the 2026 team. If they can't fix him, then they can simply non-tender him without a second thought.