Edwin Díaz's struggles continued against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night when he gave up three earned runs, blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning.
Díaz has a 12.71 ERA since returning from the injured list, and has blown three saves. The Dodgers series with the Brewers could end up deciding who gets the No. 1 seed in the National League, and Díaz just let one slip away. After the game, Roberts was asked if he would stick with Díaz as the closer.
"Give me another option," Roberts said after the game, per The Athletic's Katie Woo. "I have to have other options, and to be quite honest, none of those guys have really thrown the baseball great (lately)."
Well, Roberts does have one other option. Most of the Dodgers bullpen has been terrible since the All-Star Break, but there is one very good arm. Tanner Scott has been impressive all season and is making up for a terrible 2025 campaign.
He has a 2.25 ERA this year and has experience as a closer. He was the closer while Díaz was out, and it may be wise to have him back in that role. He has 16 saves this year and a 0.96 ERA in the second half. The only problem with moving him to the closer role is that Díaz would have to be the setup man, or someone else would have to step up, and right now, that might be an issue.
In a couple of weeks, the Dodgers may have more options. Tyler Glasnow's return to the rotation will push someone out of the rotation. Shohei Ohtani's eventual return will do the same. That could mean Justin Wrobleski and Eric Lauer are in the bullpen. One of them could end up being the new setup man, allowing Scott to close games.