The Dodgers are placing closer Edwin Diaz on the injured list again, a move that immediately reshuffles the back of their bullpen with the stretch run underway. MLB Trade Rumors was first to confirm the news, and it's the second time this season Diaz has landed on the shelf.
This latest injury is reportedly unrelated to the elbow procedure Diaz had back in April, when he had loose bodies removed from his throwing elbow. He didn't return from that IL stint until July 29, and the specific diagnosis for this new setback hasn't been made public yet.
Whatever it is, it capped off a brutal stretch. Since coming back in late July, Diaz made 9 appearances covering 13 2/3 innings and posted an 11.85 ERA with a 2.56 WHIP. He allowed runs in 6 of those 9 outings and blew 3 saves, finishing the season with just 7 saves total for a guy the Dodgers are paying to close games.
That performance is a far cry from what Los Angeles thought it was buying. Diaz signed a 3-year, $69 million deal to stabilize the ninth inning after a dominant 2024 with the Mets, when he ran a 1.63 ERA and 28 saves. Instead, between the elbow surgery and now this, he's made only a handful of appearances and the results have been ugly when he has pitched.
The corresponding roster move brings up right-hander Emmet Sheehan to work out of the bullpen. But the bigger fallout is at closer, where Tanner Scott now takes over full-time. Scott has been excellent all year, running a 2.20 ERA with a 33% strikeout rate across 49 innings, so the Dodgers aren't exactly scrambling for a fallback option.
Still, losing your $69 million closer for a second stint in the same season is a real problem heading into the final stretch, and it puts even more weight on Scott to hold down a bullpen role that was supposed to be Diaz's job all along.