Imagn

The New York Yankees didn’t plan on auditioning relievers in September. Yet Devin Williams’ spiral, Camilo Doval’s volatility, and Jake Bird riding buses in Scranton have turned a theoretical luxury into a practical need. Into that mess walks a familiar name with a battered 2025 stat line and a still-loud upside: Alexis Díaz, designated for assignment by the Dodgers on September 4.

The Case For The Flyer

Let’s start with what Díaz isn’t: he isn’t eligible for your October roster if you claim him now. Because he wasn’t in the organization by the Aug. 31 deadline, a waiver claim would make him a stretch-run bandaid, not a playoff weapon. That’s a real cost.

But the Yankees’ problem is tonight as much as it is October. Their bullpen just melted down in Houston—Williams walking the yard, Doval compounding it—and the club can’t keep handing away leverage while waiting for equilibrium to magically return. For a team in a race, “get me a clean seventh” has value all its own.

Díaz, 28, isn’t far removed from being one of the sport’s nastiest high-wire acts: an All-Star in 2023 and a 28-save season in 2024. He was lit up with the Reds early this year and only serviceable with the Dodgers (9 MLB innings, 5.00 ERA), but his career track record—and the shape of his stuff when right—still screams miss-bat relief. Financially, he’s on a $4.5 million arb deal this season and remains under team control through 2027; a claim picks up only the small remainder of this year’s salary and gives New York winter control to see if Matt Blake & Co. can fix him.

Mechanically, the Yankees would be betting on rediscovering finish on the four-seam/slider combo and restoring chase. Baseball Savant shows the quality of contact against him spiked in 2025—barrel rate and xwOBA both ugly—yet that is often what the Yankees target with sequencing and release tweaks. They’ve done it before. If Diaz’s slider regains tilt and he stops living center-cut when behind, you’re looking at a usable bridge who can shove for two weeks and audition for 2026.

The Counterargument, And Why It Shouldn’t Stop Them

Getty

Yes, there’s risk. Díaz has been hittable all year, and the Dodgers, who badly need outs themselves, just decided he wasn’t worth a 40-man seat. That’s a data point. He also won’t fix the postseason bullpen, which still lives or dies on Williams, Doval, Luke Weaver, David Bednar, and whoever else forces their way into trust. But New York’s margin is thin enough that a single competent week from a waiver claim can swing a series or buy rest for arms that matter in October.

Roster-wise, this is doable. Jake Bird remains in Triple-A after his disastrous introduction; the Yankees have already shown they’ll churn that spot. If Díaz clears waivers, the price becomes even friendlier as a minor-league pact with an immediate call-up. Either path requires a 40-man move, but that’s the point of a DFA carousel in September: to take low-cost, medium-ceiling shots.

And the alternatives? Hoping the zone stops squeezing Williams and Doval’s command stops wandering is not a strategy. Williams’ week from hell and Doval’s balk/wild-pitch combo underscored how fragile the late innings are right now. A Díaz claim is not about replacing them; it’s about raising the floor on the sixth and seventh so the eighth and ninth aren’t constantly on fire.

Verdict: Claim him. If another club beats you, no harm. If he lands in your room and Blake finds even 85% of the 2022-24 version, you’ve bought real, immediate value for pocket change, and you retain winter rights to a still-prime reliever. Just make the move knowing exactly what it is: a September stabilizer, not an October savior.

Alvin Garcia Born in Puerto Rico, Alvin Garcia is a sports writer for Heavy.com who focuses on MLB. His work has appeared on FanSided, LWOS, NewsBreak, Athlon Sports, and Yardbarker, covering mostly MLB. More about Alvin Garcia

More Heavy on Yankees

Loading more stories