Reds skipper reveals why All-Star Alexis Diaz was sent to Triple-A

It has not been the season that the Cincinnati Reds and their All-Star closer Alexis Diaz had hoped for so far. The 28-year-old from Humacao, Puerto Rico has not looked like himself this season after posting a combined 65 saves over his the last two years, not only losing his grasp on the team's closer role but eventually getting demoted to Triple-A.

Despite being the most established reliever on the Cincinnati Reds, the team decided to send Alexis Diaz back to Triple-A after another dismal outing. In his last appearance before his demotion, Diaz gave up 5 earned runs with 3 home runs to the St. Louis Cardinals over just 1.0 inning of work. This led the team to make a drastic decision by sending him down.

In an interview on MLB Network Radio, Cincinnati manager Terry Francona opened up about the team's decision to demote Alexis Diaz and what they are hoping could come out of the move.

"It was difficult. He missed so much of Spring Training and it's just the consistency. This is a guy that last year, at times, walked a tight rope. Certainly was successful in just about all of his save opportunities but there's some inconsistency there and when that grew, things got a little tough," Francona explained.

Prior to the move, Alexis Diaz had posted a 12.00 ERA over 6.0 innings of work while also delivering an eye-popping 2.167 WHIP. Ultimately the club has decided to stick with fellow veteran reliever Emilio Pagan as the team's primary closer, which provided the team an opportunity to be flexible with Diaz.

"We thought, if we are going to pitch him when we are down 6, that's not our goal for him. We want to get him back to where we can pitch him in leverage situations. So we thought getting him to Triple-A to work on it would be the best way to do it," Francona continued.

Alexis Diaz could be a trade chip for the Reds if they decide to move on from the reliever

Although Terry Francona and the Cincinnati Reds have talked about trying to get things right with Diaz, there is a chance that they could look to explore the options on the trade market. Diaz is only set to make $4,500,000 million this season and has two more years of arbitration eligibility, making him more than a short-term rental for any potential trade candidate.

Zach Pressnell of Newsweek had suggested that Diaz could be a potential target for the Boston Red Sox this season. While speculation will only continue to grow as the season rolls along, MLB insider Mark Feinsand suggested this offseason that the Reds could look to move Diaz this year as well. Things could get interesting for the veteran, especially if he can't improve on the mound.