Surprising Dodgers-Reds trade was big missed opportunity for Padres to help bullpen

The Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly always find a way to recognize issues within the Padres' organization, then go out and make things worse for them. While San Diego's bullpen is starting to bleed these past few weeks, the Dodgers went out and grabbed a reliever who could have definitely bolstered the Friars' relief staff.

Trading for Alexis Díaz in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles once again won out over San Diego, furthering them from the Padres by another step.

Dodgers sign All-Star reliever before Padres can formulate a deal for Alexis Díaz

It is understood that Díaz has been struggling lately. He was demoted to Triple-A this season following a rough start to the 2025 season. In six appearances, he allowed eight runs, including four homers. However, Díaz was an All-Star in 2023, and if the Dodgers are interested in him, then it's pretty clear that he can potentially be sculpted back into a star. The Dodgers will undoubtedly find a way to do that.

The Dodgers traded away their 13th round pick from last year, a right-handed pitcher named Mike Villani. Although they are letting some young talent go, the Dodgers' move here proves they felt they needed to do more to make their team better, even if they are in first place in the NL West standings. The Padres need to act soon as a response, as they've reached a breaking point with half of their bullpen. Just this week, they blew another game against the Miami Marlins despite scoring eight runs - so something needs to be done to patch this up.

Is Díaz a certified reborn star? Not right now, but if San Diego had their finger on the pulse of the trade market, they could have offered a rather cheap deal to try and resurrect a recent All-Star. Instead, their rival got him.