The Rangers announced the right-hander on Friday. Alexis Diaz It has been assigned as a task. His spot on the roster goes to the veteran left-hander. Jalen BeaksThe previously reported one-year deal with Texas is now official.
Diaz, 29, signed a major league contract with the Rangers earlier this winter. The former Reds All-Star earned $1 million this year, but has struggled tremendously in spring training after a disappointing 2025 performance. Diaz appeared in three official spring games and walked four of the 13 batters he faced. He throws another one. Considering he walked 14.1% of his Major League opponents and over 16% of his Triple-A opponents last year, ongoing command issues of this magnitude appear to be a notable red flag.
For the Rangers, it’s possible that the plan was all along to try to pass Diaz off waivers at some point. It’s becoming increasingly common for teams to pass waivers on free agents with less than five years of service after signing them to major league contracts at modest salaries. (Díaz’s career spans 3,088 years.) These players will not receive the remainder of their salaries if they decline to be appointed outright. If Diaz doesn’t earn the right due to last year’s struggles and his poor command this spring, he would likely accept the position outright and give the Rangers depth and a retooling project that could work at the Triple-A level.
Early in his career, Díaz seemed to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. Edwin Diaz Marching towards stardom. He finished fifth in the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Award voting after posting a 3.07 ERA, 10 saves, 13 holds, and a 32.5% strikeout rate in 63 2/3 innings. His 12.9% walk rate was unremarkable, but Díaz offset his free passes with excessive strikeouts. But his velocity and strikeout rate declined each season, and Diaz’s struggles peaked last year.
The Reds optioned Díaz to Triple-A on May 1 after he allowed eight runs in his first six innings (during which he walked five and gave up two more hits). Four weeks later he was traded to the Dodgers. Los Angeles called him up in mid-July and tagged him five runs in nine innings. Diaz was designated for assignment in early September and claimed by the Braves, who gave him 2 2/3 more innings during which he allowed three more runs. Díaz finished the season with an ERA of 8.15 in 17.2 big league innings. He posted a 5.61 ERA in 25 1/3 frames in Triple-A.
Diaz is a standout name with a lot of history, but at this point he is more than two years removed from his final season as a high-end reliever (2023). The Rangers have the next five days to trade him before he is waived, but he can be waived at any time in between. Any team that claims Díaz would receive $1 million in salary. As previously mentioned, if Díaz clears unclaimed waivers, he will accept a full assignment and will certainly remain with the organization. Because if you decline, you will lose your $1 million guarantee.
