Dodgers' latest trade acquisition indirectly shades former team in brother's comments

The Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff is in a pretty bad way through the first half of the season, with a staggering 14 pitchers on the injured list.

LA recently traded for reliever Alexis Diaz, formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, to deepen its bullpen when nearly its entire pitching staff is out of commission. It's the second exchange the Dodgers have made with the Reds this year after they sent Gavin Lux to the Midwest for a change of scenery.

Diaz is seemingly excited about his move to Los Angeles — or a move out of Cincinnati. His brother, fellow reliever Edwin Diaz of the New York Mets, described a recent phone call between the two pitchers on AM570 radio.

"He was really happy. He called me, ‘Hey, I’m going to the Dodgers so I will see you next week or in the playoffs,’" Edwin Diaz said. "So he’s really happy and I’m happy for him. Can’t wait to see him in the big leagues again and helping a team win.”

New Dodgers reliever Alexis Diaz shades Reds in comments shared by brother Edwin in radio interview

It sounds like Diaz was itching to get out of the Reds organization and onto a team with a better shot of making the postseason. Cincinnati isn't a bad team by any means — it sits in fourth place in a highly competitive National League Central with a 35-34 record, but it's a long way to the top to catch up to the 41-27 Cubs.

If the rest of their seasons go to plan, it's likely the Diaz brothers may meet in the postseason. The Dodgers and Mets are the best teams in their respective leagues (although the NL West appears to be a closer race) and the two sides could establish a bit of a rivalry after their six-game slugfest in the NLCS last year.

But Diaz's comments haven't sat well with Reds fans. He's let up eight runs on eight hits over six innings out of Cincinnati's bullpen this year. He's struggled so much that the Reds optioned him to the minor leagues to find his groove, but their plan didn't help much. Diaz let up seven runs on 14 hits over 13.2 innings with Triple-A Louisville.

Hopefully, a new team can help Diaz get his career back on the right track. He's a career 3.21 ERA pitcher with 75 saves (none this year) over 193.1 innings across four seasons, and he's shown flashes of excellence in the past. A full rebound would help him shade the Reds even more than his comments relayed by Edwin, but a deep postseason run with the Dodgers could be the icing on the cake.