DENVER — The concern around Los Angeles Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz only grew Monday when the club placed him on the injured list with what it called “loose bodies” in his right elbow.
Díaz will undergo a right elbow procedure Wednesday, the Dodgers said, and is expected to return “during the second half of the season.”
Díaz’s diminished fastball velocity and inconsistent usage over the last 10 days culminated Sunday when the team’s new high-priced closer failed to record an out in a non-save situation in a 9-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies. That prompted manager Dave Roberts to say he would have a further conversation with Díaz, who signed a three-year, $69 million contract this winter.
“I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really,” Roberts said Sunday.
Díaz has averaged 95.7 mph on his fastball this season, down from 97.2 mph a year ago. Still, the Dodgers said Díaz wasn’t dealing with anything arm-related. They have used Díaz just once over the last nine days after the right-hander blew a save April 10 against the Texas Rangers and told Dodgers officials something didn’t feel right in his right knee (the same one he injured during the 2023 World Baseball Classic). Díaz underwent manual testing on the knee and stressed to the team that he wanted to pitch.
“I think, for us, it’s just going on what the training staff and the player tells me,” Roberts said Sunday. “You got to trust him and believe that they feel good. And a veteran player like him, no one should know his body better than he does. But obviously, today, it just didn’t look sharp.”
The saga has lingered. Sunday, Díaz averaged 95.4 mph on his fastball, an outing that included one fastball that registered at just 92.8 mph. Díaz has thrown only six slower fastballs in his entire career. Díaz no longer had a locker stall when media were allowed into the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field on Monday.
The 32-year-old has allowed seven runs in his six innings since arriving in Los Angeles, with six of those runs coming in his last two eyebrow-raising outings.
The Dodgers will have to figure out their closer role in the interim. The club used Alex Vesia to record the final outs of the team’s two save opportunities since the weirdness started around Díaz. Tanner Scott has enjoyed a bounce-back start to the season, a year after getting crushed in the first year of his four-year, $72 million free-agent deal. Blake Treinen hadn’t allowed a run in his first eight appearances before surrendering three runs and failing to record an out Sunday.
The team has benefitted from having Díaz in the ninth inning, freeing up its bevy of high-leverage options to be deployed in ideal situations. Now, that advantage has been removed.
Left-hander Jake Eder has taken Díaz’s spot on the active roster in the interim. The Dodgers acquired him from the Washington Nationals for cash April 1 and have used him primarily in multi-inning relief at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Their relief depth has taken a hit to start the season, with fellow 40-man roster options such as Ronan Kopp or Paul Gervase either struggling (Kopp has allowed 16 runs in 6 2/3 innings) or injured (Gervase was placed on the injured list with a cyst in his non-pitching elbow).
The Dodgers also recently acquired right-hander Chayce McDermott, who made his debut with the organization and allowed a pair of runs Saturday for Oklahoma City.