The Dodgers still have a lot to sort out before October arrives, and one of the biggest decisions hovering over the bullpen is Edwin Díaz.
Los Angeles brought in the three-time All-Star with a huge expectation attached to the move: 253 career saves, a three-year, $69 million deal, and the idea that he could be part of the push for a third straight championship. Instead, his first months in Dodger blue were a mess. Díaz opened with a 10.50 ERA across his first seven outings, covering six innings, and by the end of April he was on the injured list after a procedure to remove loose bodies in his elbow.
When he returned in late July, the results still weren’t there. He gave up 11 earned runs in nine appearances before another stint on the injured list, this time for a month because of neck inflammation. But the last three outings have looked much more like the version the Dodgers hoped they were getting: one hit, one walk, and six strikeouts.
Dave Roberts said the timing is obviously not ideal with the postseason approaching and Díaz still needing more work, but he also made it clear that the reliever has worked his way back into the conversation.
“I think it’s one of those things where if you’re one of the 12 pitchers on a postseason roster, you’re in the ‘trust tree’” Roberts said. “He’s put himself right smack in that conversation. Given all that he’s had to go through this year to right the ship is a big credit to him.”
Roberts added that some of Díaz’s rough stretch may have been tied to factors outside the pitcher’s control, and he sounded encouraged by where Díaz stands now.
“I think he’s in as good a spot as he’s been in all year, mentally, physically. The ball is coming out well,” Roberts said.
“Yeah, I think that swagger is starting to come back, and I like the way that the energy that he’s exuding, it’s real. It’s something for us to build on.”
Even with that progress, Roberts still isn’t ready to hand anyone the full-time closer title. He pointed to Tanner Scott as another arm the Dodgers may want to use in a different high-leverage lane, especially if the best spot for him comes before the ninth inning.
“In a perfect world, as we all know the world’s not perfect, I would love [a set closer],” Roberts said. “I think if there’s an opportunity, for example, for Tanner [Scott] to pitch a high-leverage inning in the seventh or the eighth inning, it’s just hard to pass that up if he’s the best option right there. Because you just don’t know where the ninth inning is going to be.
“Those are things that you have to kind of toil with, and those are always good things for people to debate. Right now I don’t see a one-person closer.”
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