This Ranger reliever just signed his walking papers after another disastrous outing

Everyone knew there was an opening on this Rangers' roster for a closer heading into spring training in Surprise, Arizona.

29-year-old veteran Alexis Díaz was brought in by president of baseball operations Chris Young to vie for the high-leverage position, signing a bargain basement one-year $1 million deal.

But after yet another disastrous outing against the Angels on Sunday, it's going to be tough to justify holding a spot for him in the revamped bullpen moving forward.

Rangers' Alexis Díaz had another terrible outing in relief of Nathan Eovaldi

Nathan Eovaldi went 5 solid innings, staking the Rangers to a 4-2 lead before handing things off to the bullpen. Luis Curvello pitched a scoreless 6th, handing the ball to Díaz for the seventh when the wheels came shooting off.

Díaz, who hasn't collected a save since 2024, inherited a 6-2 lead but failed to retire an out and was all over the place, walking three batters and allowing a hit. He walked in two runs and allowed five earned runs before mercifully getting the hook with the Rangers trailing 7-6. He also took the loss and is now 0-2.

For the spring session, Díaz has a 43.20 ERA, allowing 8 earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched across three appearances in three games.

Díaz broke out as a closer with Cincinnati in 2022

In 2022, Díaz became one of the top closers in the league with the Reds registering 10 saves toward the end of the season with a 1.84 ERA.

He became the everyday closer for the team in 2023 and 2024, recording 65 saves and 141 strikeouts in 123.2 innings pitched. He was an All-Star in 2023.

Díaz began the 2025 season on the injured list with left hamstring inflammation suffered during spring training. The injury affected mechanics and command so badly that he was eventually traded to the Dodgers, who let him go in September 2025

After a brief stint with the Atlanta Braves, Díaz was brought on board by the Rangers to see if he could regain his dominant stuff and contend with Chris Martin and Robert Garcia for the vacant closer spot.

Unfortunately, it looks like he is still lost on the mound with little to no idea where the ball will go once it leaves his hand.

Don't be surprised if we see less and less of Díaz between now and opening day. The Rangers value the bullpen spot more than the amount that they would be on the hook for if they cut him loose.

It's a shame because the 2026 Rangers desperately need someone to step up and be the guy to close the door at the end of games, avoiding the closer-by-committee predicament they found themselves in last season.

Right now, it is likely a two-man race between Martin and Perez, as Díaz will be lucky to keep a roster spot following his latest debacle of an outing.