Dodgers Eye Bullpen Reinforcements After Missing Out on Devin Williams
LOS ANGELES - The Dodgers may be fresh off a World Series title, but the champagne has barely dried and the front office is already back at work. One area that remains squarely in focus this offseason: the bullpen - particularly the lack of a reliable late-inning right-hander that haunted them throughout much of 2025.
Despite some shaky moments, Los Angeles managed to patch things together down the stretch. Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Blake Treinen all had their struggles, but the Dodgers leaned on their elite starting rotation to carry them through October.
That formula worked - just barely - as they outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays to win it all. But heading into 2026, Andrew Friedman and the front office know that kind of bullpen roulette isn't a sustainable long-term strategy.
The plan? Fortify the late innings.
The Dodgers are hoping for bounce-back years from Scott and Treinen, and there's optimism around the potential returns of Brock Stewart and possibly Evan Phillips - who was non-tendered just a few weeks ago but isn’t entirely out of the picture. Still, this team is clearly in the market for a proven closer.
Early in the offseason, all signs pointed to Devin Williams as a prime target. A former All-Star and one of the most dominant relievers in the game, Williams reportedly had mutual interest in joining Los Angeles.
But that door has now closed. Williams is off the board, having reportedly signed a three-year, $51 million deal with some deferments - a significant commitment that takes one of the top bullpen arms off the market.
So where does that leave the Dodgers? Enter Edwin Díaz.
Díaz, who declined the Mets’ $22.025 million qualifying offer in November, is now the biggest name left among available closers. After opting out of the final two years of his record-setting five-year, $102 million deal with New York, he’s looking to cash in again - and based on his 2025 performance, he’s got a strong case.
Díaz converted 28 of 31 save chances and posted a 1.63 ERA. He’s still very much at the top of his game.
But there’s a wrinkle. Signing Díaz would cost the Dodgers a draft pick, thanks to the qualifying offer he turned down.
That’s not a small thing for a front office that has historically been cautious when it comes to spending big on bullpen arms. In fact, it would be rare for the Dodgers to go heavy on relief pitching in back-to-back offseasons - a trend they’ve largely avoided in recent years.
Still, the need is clear. Tanner Scott blew 10 saves in 2025.
Yates and Treinen weren’t much more dependable in the ninth inning. In the playoffs, the Dodgers turned to Rōki Sasaki to close games - a testament to both his talent and the lack of trust in the bullpen’s late-inning options.
That’s not a luxury they can count on every year.
Díaz would bring stability, experience, and elite-level stuff to a bullpen that needs all three. And while there’s still a chance he returns to the Mets - especially now that Williams is reportedly open to a setup role, similar to his time with the Yankees - the Dodgers are widely viewed as the frontrunners if he chooses to move on.
The question now is whether Friedman and company are willing to break from tradition and spend big to lock down the ninth inning. With the World Series window wide open and expectations sky-high, the Dodgers may find that Díaz is exactly the kind of investment they can’t afford not to make.