Edwin Díaz Rejoining Dodgers with Last Chance to Salvage Season
The $69 million offseason signing has struggled with injuries and performance, now faces a new role to prove himself.
Edwin Díaz is set to be activated by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, manager Dave Roberts announced, giving the $69 million offseason acquisition a final opportunity to salvage his disastrous season in a new role.
Díaz, who began the year as a marquee free-agent signing and one of the league's premier closers, has endured an injury-plagued and performance-hampered debut season with the Dodgers. He has appeared in only 16 games, converting just seven of his 11 save opportunities and posting a 11.85 ERA while battling various physical ailments.
Díaz initially required surgery in April to address loose bodies in his elbow. After returning in late July, he was sidelined again just three weeks later with neck inflammation. He also reported discomfort in his previously repaired right knee at other points, struggling with his mechanics and delivery throughout the season.
The Dodgers' hope was that Díaz's latest injured list stint would allow him to correct these issues, with club officials identifying a drop in his arm slot as a potential cause for his inconsistency. However, his performance in four rehab outings with Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this month, where he allowed six runs and walked seven batters, led Roberts to express doubt about Díaz's chances of making the postseason roster.
"He needs to pitch better," Roberts stated. "It hasn’t been good."
However, Díaz showed improvement on Wednesday, retiring three of the four batters he faced in another rehab appearance without issuing a walk. Roberts described it as his "best one yet," prompting the team to feel comfortable activating the 32-year-old pitcher.
Díaz will begin in lower-leverage situations, and his ability to regain the club's trust will depend on continued progress. "You have to earn the right of opportunities, but then you also got to perform, right? Eddie understands that," Roberts said. "Where we’re at now, we just need guys to buy in, perform and go from there."
For Díaz to revive his chances of pitching in the postseason, Roberts emphasized the need for "quality of strike-throwing. Get guys out." He added that in the postseason, "every inning’s leverage."