The Dodgers announced that right-hander Edwin Díaz has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow loose bodies. Left-hander Jake Eder has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
The status of Díaz has been a bit of a mystery for a while now, as he has struggled for the Dodgers while pitching with diminished velocity. His fastball has averaged 95.7 miles per hour so far this year, a notable drop from his 97.2 mph average last year. His results were fine through five outings but his sixth, on April 10th, was rough. He entered a 7-4 game in the ninth and surrendered three runs, allowing the Rangers to tie it up.
The Dodgers were able to walk that game off in the bottom of the ninth but Díaz became a question mark. He didn’t pitch in official game action for over a week after that, even though the Dodgers had some save situations. He was finally back on the mound last night but the results were again poor. He entered in the bottom of the eighth at Coors Field, with the Dodgers down 6-4. He faced four batters, allowing three hits and a walk, then was removed without recording an out.
On the one hand, it’s nice to have a diagnosis that explains his struggles, but any elbow issue for a pitcher is going to be worrisome. The Dodgers haven’t yet provided any more specifics about his expected timeline or whether surgery is a possibility, but losing Díaz is obviously a blow. He has been one of the best closers in recent history and was just signed to a huge contract in the offseason. The Dodgers gave him a three-year, $69MM deal this winter to scoop him away from the Mets.
The Dodgers have won the past two World Series but their 2025 title came despite a shaky bullpen. Manager Dave Roberts relied more and more on his starters as the postseason went along and the Dodgers just barely held on, as they almost lost to the Jays on a few occasions, going into extra innings in Game Seven.
The Díaz signing was supposed to patch over one of the club’s few weak spots as they look for a three-peat. Though Díaz isn’t quite as ridiculously dominant as he was a few years ago, he still had a great 2025 season, tossing 66 1/3 innings with a 1.63 earned run average 38% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 48.4% ground ball rate.
More to come.
