Edwin Díaz signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason to be their new closer after winning the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award last year.
Díaz had a 10.50 ERA through seven games to start the season. He then went on the injured list after having surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. After returning from the injured list, he had a 12.91 ERA and blew three saves before going back on the injured list with neck inflammation.
Díaz was supposed to fill a huge need for the Dodgers, but has been a disaster this season. The good news is, he thinks he can get back on track.
"I think with a good arm angle, my fastball run way better than how I'm throwing right now," Díaz said on Sunday, per ESPN. "I'm throwing the ball side to side, so my slider is getting flat in the middle. My fastball is running through the bat, so that's why we are working now on that, get my arm angle back, and try to keep going and keep working."
Díaz's arm angle is the biggest change this year from years past. It seems like something simple that the Dodgers would have fixed by now, but clearly he is working on getting it back to where it was.
His arm angle this season has been at 15 degrees. Last season, his arm angle was at 19 degrees. In 2022, when he also won a Reliever of the Year Award, it was at 23 degrees.
Perhaps when Díaz is back from the injured list, he will have fixed his mechanics and look more like the player the Dodgers expected.