Only the Los Angeles Dodgers could have a $69 million All-Star closer as a potential hidden weapon ahead of the postseason.
Such a thing shouldn’t be possible, but the Dodgers aren’t most teams. Friday night’s blowout win over the Giants presented what’s been a rare sight this year: Edwin Díaz taking the mound in the ninth inning. The 32-year-old has missed much of the season with elbow and neck problems, and the 8-2 rout marked his first outing since Aug. 17.
Díaz pitching a scoreless ninth in September is exactly what Dodgers fans envisioned when they added the three-time All-Star this past offseason. However, manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Díaz, who had recorded an 11.85 ERA and allowed 10 walks in his first 14.2 innings, will not move back into the closer role.
In fact, Roberts admitted he would not have used the veteran reliever on Friday night if not for the team's six-run lead. To his credit, Díaz worked around a two-out single, and his fastball averaged 97.6 mph, which MLB's Sarah Wexler reported was up 1.3 mph from his season average.
“I think we just want to see him throw the baseball the way he's capable of,” Roberts said. “And you’re talking about nine games, so you're talking three or four outings to evaluate, and that should be adequate.”
The story was much the same on Saturday: L.A. calling on Diaz in a six-run game, and Diaz striking out two batters with just one baserunner in a scoreless inning — all while looking much more like the guy the Dodgers thought they were acquiring this offseason.
Could Edwin Díaz actually help the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason?
If the postseason began Sunday, the Dodgers would be the NL’s No. 2 seed and have a first-round bye. They’d then host the highest remaining seed in the NLDS, which would either be the NL East-leading Braves or the No. 6 seed (the Phillies held that spot entering Sunday, though they are one game back of the No. 4 Cubs and No. 5 Padres).
Wexler wrote that Díaz is competing for a spot on the playoff roster, which isn’t overly surprising to anyone familiar with Roberts’ mindset. Financial commitments and a player’s Baseball-Reference pages only matter so much, and the Dodgers have three championships in the last six years to prove it.
Roberts, who took over the Dodgers ahead of the 2016 season, has spent the last decade proving he’s not afraid to bench underperforming players or go with the hot hand. If Díaz returns to his earlier form and is dreadful over the team’s final seven games, it's difficult to imagine he’d be a lock to make the 26-man playoff roster.
The reality is that neither Roberts nor the Dodgers know what they’ll get from Díaz, who already has four games where he's given up at least three runs. He’s been worth -1.2 bWAR in 17 games, and he allowed five runs, three walks and a hit by pitch during a recent Triple-A outing during his rehab stint.
Personally, we’re skeptical about Díaz making a significant positive difference if he makes the postseason roster. Two low-stress outings don't make up for an entire season's worth of dysfunction. But the velocity is now creeping back up into the high 90s, and that's an awfully promising sign. We need to see him keep doing it over the final week of the regular season, but if he can, that could answer this team's most pressing question entering October.
Díaz has silenced his critics in the past, most notably after an ugly first season with the Mets in 2019. Hey, we were willing to own our prediction that the Nationals would lose at least 110 games. Prove us wrong, Edwin!
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