ESPN baseball writer offers thoughts about how Díaz addition will affect Los Angeles going into 2026 MLB season.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers have plenty of reasons to celebrate signing ace reliever Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million deal, there might be some pieces that have been overlooked.
But ESPN baseball writer Bradford Doolittle took a long look at how signing Díaz will play a significant role in upgrading the Dodgers' bullpen situation. After all, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tried using Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen in high-leverage moments last season.
The results weren't always good. Of course, Roberts and the ballclub had to use starter Roki Sasaki as a reliever late in the season and into the postseason.
Now, though, Díaz will get the call in 2026. What did Doolittle write? At the beginning, Doolittle graded this signing out to an A.
"It's a bad idea to sign a relief pitcher to a long-term contract," Doolittle wrote. "But it's not a bad idea to sign Edwin Diaz to a long-term contract, and it's especially not a bad idea for the Los Angeles Dodgers to do so.
"You could get really cynical or optimistic about this -- whether you're a Dodgers fan or not," Doolittle continued. "The Dodgers' bullpen plan a year ago was to stock the roster with a ridiculous list of big-name relievers who had all worked in the closing role for various teams.
"The depth chart was eye-popping: Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech," he wrote. "The plan did not work. Each of those pitchers struggled with injuries, performance or both."
Doolittle also points out that the Dodgers didn't learn that there really is no level of certainty when it comes to a bullpen. Yet Diaz really is worth the risk. Doolittle also points out that only Emmanuel Clase, in the past five years, has earned more fWAR (8.1) than Diaz among relievers, and Diaz missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury.
"Diaz is 31, but last season was one of his best (1.63 ERA, 28 saves in 31 chances), and his underlying traits remain elite," Doolittle points out. "According to Statcast, Diaz rated in the 99th percentile in expected ERA, expected batting average allowed, whiff rate and strikeout rate. His command wavers periodically but his nasty four-seamer/slider combo allows him to work out of jams when it does."
With Diaz coming on board, it's highly likely that Scott and Treinen are thrown into set-up relief pitching moments. They'll come on in the sixth or seventh inning, depending on how that night's Dodgers' starter is pitching.
Roberts probably hopes that he can get six or, maybe, seven innings out of his starters. That would leave simply the eighth to be handled by the likes of Treinen or Scott. Then, if he's out there in Los Angeles, Timmy Trumpet can sound his horn, and Diaz can some on in a save situation.
That's a set-up which might make Roberts drool, in a good way, while in the Dodgers' dugout.