Coming off back-to-back World Series titles, the Los Angeles Dodgers spared no expense in the offseason and signed Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker.
Tucker has struggled this year, but is showing some signs of life. Díaz, however, has spent most of the year on the injured list and has looked awful when he is on the mound. He underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in April.
He has pitched in 12 games this year and has a 10.80 ERA. He has blown three saves, and has a 14.3% walk rate right now. On Saturday, he surrendered back-to-back triples to start the ninth inning, allowing the Arizona Diamondbacks to tie the game. His velocity has crept back up after his return, but the quality of his stuff is not the same.
The Dodgers clearly expected more out of the three-time Reliever of the Year Award winner. However, his struggles are not the biggest surprise. He has gone through stretches like this in the past, and then bounces back. In 2024, he struggled greatly. Notably, he missed the 2023 season with an injury.
The Dodgers cannot rely on him to close games right now and may need to move him out of a leverage role for a while. Tanner Scott is capable of closing games and should be the closer moving forward until Díaz can prove he deserves the ball in the ninth.
The Dodgers bullpen has been a problem all season, and Díaz's struggles in the ninth inning are not helping. The Dodgers are pretty much a lock to be playing in October, but if they continue to let Dìaz blow games in the ninth inning, they may not get back to the World Series.
