After a few hours to reflect on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ extra-inning victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, there are two significant takeaways, the first being that Shohei Ohtani and friends would not lose every game left on their schedule.
But more importantly, Saturday night served as a reminder that, for as dominant as they’ve been in recent years, these Dodgers are extremely vulnerable. Not even the Tarik Skubal trade has managed to rejuvenate a team that just ended a seven-game losing streak. The offense continues to underperform, and former All-Star closer Edwin Díaz has only hurt the Dodgers since returning from an elbow injury.
Injuries have ravaged the Dodgers, though that shouldn’t be an excuse for the team’s most significant issue: a lack of perspective.
Edwin Díaz, not Tarik Skubal, is exactly why the Los Angeles Dodgers are slumping
It’s hard to blame anyone in the Dodgers’ building if they’ve become overconfident. Think about the team in question. They’ve won three championships since 2020 and boast numerous future Hall of Famers in the nightly lineup. Not only are they well-positioned to win their fifth consecutive NL West crown, but they casually bolstered their rotation with a two-time defending Cy Young winner.
Roberts said something especially noteworthy during Saturday’s postgame press conference, noting that Díaz’s “intensity” picked up when the Diamondbacks had the game-winning runner on third with no one out in the ninth.
“Even talking to him after the game, that’s how we have to be from the first pitch,” Roberts said. “That was the first game I saw this year where he had some real intensity.”
Díaz owns a 10.80 ERA and has been worth -0.9 bWAR through 12 games. The fact that Saturday night’s blown save was the first time that Roberts felt he’d seen “real intensity” from his $69 million closer is beyond troubling. And before anyone counters that he was only being hyperbolic, consider that Roberts played 10 MLB seasons and has been the Dodgers’ manager since 2016. He knows exactly how to phrase things, especially in the Los Angeles media market.
If Roberts truly feels that way, then it’s fair to wonder if Díaz’s teammates are also lacking “intensity” and focus. Without speculating too far, it’s worth noting that Dalton Rushing has had a string of incidents that have called his maturity into question. Roki Sasaki has allowed 21 homers and walked 40 over 105 innings.
Whatever the issues are, Roberts needs the established leaders like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts to rally the troops and at least try to get everyone back on track. Skubal will ideally command enough respect given his resume, and he’s another veteran who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
At this rate, though, the veterans might want to convince Roberts not to trust Díaz in the ninth inning come October. Just a gut feeling.
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